Chatroom Love
by Bohemian Anne
Summary: In the early 21st century, Jack and Rose meet in a chatroom in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

_August 27, 2001_

_Edmonton, Alberta, Canada_

"Oh, come on, Rose!" Dawn cried. "It will be fun!"

It was a warm Saturday morning in August. Rose and Dawn were in Rose's room trying to find something to do. "You know I don't like chatrooms," Rose DeWitt-Bukater groaned.

Dawn grinned. "Have you ever cybered?"

"Dawn!" Rose gasped. "That's totally gross!"

"I was only joking. Jeez, Rose, lighten up." She sighed.

"Sorry. You know what Cal tried to do to me," Rose mumbled, thinking back to the previous summer when her mother introduced her Caledon Hockley at the country club. He seemed nice at first, but he started to get violent. Luckily, her mom caught him when he tried to have sex with her. Now there was a restraining order, and she hadn't heard from him since.

Rose thought about it for a second. "Oh, okay! But only for a few minutes."

"That's the spirit!" Dawn clicked on the chatroom link under the screen name rose_bud2001.

"Are there any guys in Edmonton, Alberta?" she typed. Almost immediately, an IM box popped up.

JD_in_AB: Asl?

"My turn to type." Rose pushed Dawn off the chair.

rose_bud2001: 17/f/Edmonton u?

She waited for the person to reply.

JD_in_AB: 17/m/Edmonton

JD_in_AB: Cool

rose_bud2001: Yeah! LOL

JD_in_AB: You live near Old Strathcona?

rose_bud2001: Yeah I go to the SC High School

JD_in_AB: Me 2! I just moved here from the US so I don't really know my way around

rose_bud2001: I could show you around when school starts...

JD_in_AB: That would be great! Thanks

rose_bud2001: No prob

JD_in_AB: I have to go, my aunt has to use the phone

rose_bud2001: All right I'll meet you in front of the trophy case at lunch

JD_in_AB: OK seeya when school starts, bye

rose_bud2001: bye!

Rose turned off the computer, smiling.

"See! I knew you'd have fun," Dawn said, boasting.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHATROOM LOVE**

Rose and Dawn walked through Southgate Shopping Centre, stopping to look into every store.

"You really should buy something, Rose," Dawn said, stopping outside of Reitmans. "Get something to impress him."

"Him?" Rose questioned, looking at Dawn in confusion.

"You know, the guy you're going to meet at school, in front of the trophy case."

"Dawn, I don't even know him!"

"So? You're still gonna meet him."

"That doesn't mean I need to buy something to _impress_ him."

"Hey, it's a good excuse to go shopping. Come on." Dawn grabbed Rose's arm, dragging her inside the store.

"Dawn..."

"Come on! You need something new anyway."

"Okay, okay." Rose sighed, letting Dawn lead her toward a rack of jeans.

"Are you ready for school tomorrow?" Ruth asked Rose, coming up behind her.

Rose looked up from the computer, where she had been surfing the Net. "Yeah. I guess."

Ruth sighed. "Look, Rose, I know you're worried that Cal will show up at school, but I don't think he will. Not only does he have a restraining order against him, but he's finished with high school. I don't think you have anything to worry about."

Rose turned to look at her mother. "I hope you're right, but I still don't trust him. Too many restraining orders get broken, you know."

"You haven't seen him since last year, not even at the country club. He knows he has to avoid you."

"Yes, but still..."

"Everything will be fine, Rose."

"I hope so, Mom."

Rose walked over to the trophy case, waiting for JD_in_AB, whoever he was. She had almost backed out, but Dawn had convinced her to go through with meeting him. After all, she had promised to show him around.

She leaned casually against the trophy case, trying to watch without making it obvious. _Maybe he won't show up._ She didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed at the thought.

She was getting ready to leave when a tall, blond-haired guy walked up to her.

"Hi. I'm looking for rose_bud2001. Would that be you?"

"Uh...yes. Yes, it would. Just call me Rose. Are you JD_in_AB?"

"Yeah, that's me. Jack Dawson, formerly of the United States."

"I'm Rose DeWitt-Bukater. I was about to leave."

"Sorry. I didn't know where the trophy case was."

"Yeah, I guess that could make it hard to find. Anyway, I promised to show you around. Uh...how about we start with the campus?"

"Okay. Sounds good."

Rose started for the door. "This way."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

_Wow. He's cute,_ Rose observed as they walked out of the building.

"And last but not least, the pool building...where...uh...the pool is!"

_Fool!_ she thought. _Now he's going to think I'm a ditz._

But Jack just smiled.

"Are there any icebergs in the water?" he joked.

"What?"

"It's just that a lot of people think all Canada is snow and people speaking weird and stuff," he admitted. "I thought that, too, until I moved here."

"Well, Mr. Big-Shot American," she teased. "What do you think of us now?"

"It's just like the States, except it has a lot less people."

_Oh, man, Dawson. State the obvious!_ Jack thought. _Quick, say something, or she'll think you aren't interested._

"I-uh like your outfit," he stammered.

"Oh, this old thing?" Rose looked down at the outfit Dawn made her buy.

"Yeah. It looks nice on you. It brings out your eyes."

For a moment, the two just stood there.

Rose looked at her watch. "We still have a few minutes before class starts again. Wanna go to the cafeteria and get a quick bite to eat?"

"Yeah, sure."

"I got a salad and a diet Coke. You?" Rose asked as she scanned the room for a place to sit.

Jack looked at his tray. "Pizza and a sub."

"Oh, that's nutritious," she replied sarcastically.

"Hey, Jack! Over here! We saved you a spot!"

"Hey, Tommy. How's your morning been?"

The two sat down at a table with two other people.

Rose stared at the captain of the football team feeding a French fry to his girlfriend, captain of the cheerleading team, long time best friend of Rose, Dawn.

"Okay. I have shop next period. You?"

"Hypermedia."

"You two know each other?" Rose took a bite of her salad.

"Yeah. Dawson here was looking kind of lost first period, so me and Fabri took him under our wing." Tommy grabbed Jack's head and gave him a nookie.

Jack pulled back. "Hey, man, watch the hair!"

They all laughed.

Rose looked around the room. "Where is Fabrizio, anyway?"

"Ah...probably in the in the library with Helga, trying to perfect their English with the other foreign exchange students," Dawn said, taking a fry from Tommy.

For the rest of the lunch period they sat there looking at their new timetables and complaining that the whole group of them only had one class together.

Rose smiled just as the bell rang.

"Well, Jack, it seems I have art with you this afternoon."

Dawn gave Tommy a quick peck on the cheek and dragged Rose out of the room to their next class, away from Jack.

"See ya in forty-five minutes!" he shouted over the sudden noise of students.

"Later!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

"Hey, Rose," Jack said, walking into the classroom. They both had art this hour.

"Oh, hey Jack." Rose motioned to the chair next to hers. "Have a seat."

He sat down beside her, dropping his books on the floor. "What are you doing in this class? Taking it because you like art, or because you have to take it?"

"I like art," Rose replied. "Of course, this is all new to me, since I've never taken art before."

"You haven't?" Jack asked. He looked at her thoughtfully. Here was his chance to show that he wasn't just an out-of-place American. He had taken art before, though he still had to start in the beginning class, since none of his art classes had been in high school.

"What about you?" Rose asked, turning to him. "Why did you choose this class?"

"Same reason. I like art. I've even taken some classes."

"Then why are you in the beginner's class?"

"It was all community classes. None of them transferred."

"Oh." Rose searched for something else to say, wanting to keep the conversation going. "Who's your favourite artist?"

"Monet. Definitely Monet. I like his use of colour."

Rose nodded. "My family went to France one summer, and we saw where he had lived in Giverney."

"Really? What was it like?"

"Well..." Rose trailed off. "I don't really remember much, since I was pretty little, but there seemed to be a lot of flowers. I guess that's fitting, since he painted all those landscapes."

"Yeah." Jack nodded, agreeing with her. "Who's your favourite artist?"

"Picasso. His paintings are so...different. It's like being inside a dream or something...there's truth, but no logic."

Jack had never quite thought of it that way, but he supposed she was right. He looked up as she went on.

"Have you done much art of your own?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Quite a bit, actually."

"Do you have any of it with you? Can I see it?"

"Well..." He was a little uncomfortable with letting her see his art right off the bat, but she looked so interested, he gave in. "Yeah. I have a few drawings." He dug into his folder, pulling them out.

Rose took them, looking through them with interest. Jack watched her admiringly. Not many girls were so interested in things like art.

"Wow." Rose examined a drawing of an elderly woman in a bar. "Were these drawn from life?"

He nodded, leaning closer to explain the picture. "This woman came into this bar every night and took the same seat, waiting for her long-lost love to come for her. Everyone called her Madame Bijoux, though I don't know why. See how her clothes are all tattered? She never seemed to be able to face reality; just stayed in her own little world."

Rose shook her head, looking through the other pictures-a woman nursing a baby, several pictures of hands, a picture of girls showering in the locker room...

"Well, well, well," she murmured. "Did you draw _that_ from life, too?"

He blushed a little. "Um...yeah. See, there was a window in the girls' locker room, and there was a trash can right next to the window, so..."

"So you climbed up and took a look?" Rose raised an eyebrow, her gaze sweeping the picture. Unlike most such pictures drawn by teenage boys, it wasn't pornographic. Attention was given to the girls' modesty...no one was shown completely naked. Still, she wouldn't want to be in his shoes if they ever found out he had spied on them and drawn them.

"Here...uh...give me that," he told her, quickly hiding it in his folder before anyone else could see it.

Rose smirked at him, but there was a hint of respect in her expression. "You have a gift, Jack. You see people."

"I see you."

And?" Rose smiled, waiting to hear what he would say, but they were interrupted by the teacher.

"Have a seat, everyone. We will begin with a basic overview of art, and then move on to drawing."

Rose turned to Jack quickly, whispering, "We can talk later. Would you like me to show you around town this afternoon?"

"Sure," he whispered back. "I'll meet you at the entrance after school."

Rose nodded. "Great."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

"Oh, my God! He is so hot!" Dawn squealed.

It was last period and the two were supposed to be discussing the play _Hamlet_, but Rose told Dawn about her date with Jack and they got so caught up in the moment that the play was soon forgotten.

"Yeah, he is!" Rose giggled. "He wants me to show him around the city, but he doesn't realize that would take days to do. This is a big city!"

"Hmm...that would cause a problem..."

"I got it!" Dawn snapped her fingers. "Why not take him to the Roxy?"

The Roxy was dance club on Whyte Avenue and was a local hangout for teens.

"Perfect!" Rose exclaimed a little too loudly. The whole class turned to stare at her.

Mr. Andrews looked up from the chalkboard with a strange look on his face.

"So, Miss DeWitt-Bukater thinks Hamlet should have killed his uncle with the supper ham?"

The whole twelfth grade English class burst out laughing.

Rose buried her nose deep in the book, blushing as red as a tomato.

BUZZZZ!

Everyone grabbed their books and headed to their lockers, anxious to get home.

Jack, Fabrizio, and Tommy were just getting out of biology and heading towards their lockers on the other side of the school when Fabrizio ran into Helga.

"Helga!" He put his arm around her.

"Hello, boys," she replied with a light Norwegian accent.

Fabrizio introduced Helga to Jack.

"And Jack, this is Helga Dahl. She is from Oslo."

"Nice to meet you." He shook her hand.

"I'm surrounded by foreigners," Tommy muttered.

"Yeah, but you love us!"

Jack gave Tommy a small punch on the shoulder.

"So, where are you from then Jack?" Helga asked

"The infamous Santa Monica of the USA."

"Lucky bastard!" Tommy looked at him with envy.

Fabrizio just looked puzzled.

"I've never heard of it."

"It's in California," he explained. "Where are you from, Fabri?"

"Italy."

Jack looked down at his watch.

"Hey, guys, I have to go meet Rose now, so I'll see ya later."

"You da man, Jack!"

"Ha ha...thanks, Tommy." He laughed and headed towards the main doors.

* * *

"Maybe he's not going to show." Rose bit down on her lip.

"Calm down, Rose!" Dawn took a sip of her Evian. "He's only two minutes late."

"Look! there he is!"

Rose saw Jack come out of the school and let out a small sigh of relief.

"I'm going now. Call me later. Okay, Rose?"

"Okay. Bye, Dawn." She waved good-bye to her friend.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Jack saw Rose waiting for him at the entrance to the school, and hurried over to her. Being a couple of minutes late wasn't really that big a deal, but he liked Rose and wanted to make a good impression.

"Hey," he said, walking up to her.

Rose smiled. "Hi."

They were both silent for a moment, trying to think of what to say. Finally, Jack broke the silence.

"So...are you going to show me around Edmonton?"

"Well..." Rose thought for a moment. "Edmonton is a pretty big city, and it would take several days to show you all of it, so I'm just going to show you the highlights for now. I thought I might show you this dance club on Whyte Avenue called the Roxy." She blushed a little, realizing that it sounded like she was asking him out on a real date, instead of just showing him around. After all, what did she really know about him? She'd only just met him. He might be as bad as Cal, or worse, when they were alone. "If you want to, that is," she added quickly. "It's where a lot of teens hang out."

He nodded. "Sure," he said. "Sounds good." He pretended not to notice her nervousness. "Did you drive today? If you did, I'll just follow you there, because I drove my car to school today. If you didn't...uh...would you like a ride?"

"Actually..." Rose thought for a moment. She really shouldn't accept a ride from someone she didn't know, but she didn't have her car with her today, and she hadn't thought about the fact that she would need transportation to show Jack around. Edmonton was much too big to just walk around, even if she only showed him a few things. "Sure," she told him, throwing caution to the wind. After all, he hadn't given her any sign that he wasn't trustworthy, and if he tried anything...well...her experience with Cal had taught her a thing or two. She knew much more now about defending herself. But she hoped she wouldn't have to. Jack seemed like a nice guy, not at all like Cal.

Half an hour later, they were at the Roxy. Normally, it would have taken much less time to get there, but Jack was still unfamiliar with the city, getting adjusted to the change from miles to kilometres, and made several wrong turns, in spite of Rose's patient directions. They were both laughing too hard to speak by the time they finally got there.

"Oh," Rose gasped, climbing out of the car and leaning against it, holding her side. "I never knew anyone could be so bad at following directions. I said right, you went left. I must admit, I've never seen the city quite this way before. We went places I've never been." She burst into laughter again, peals of mirth ringing out through the parking lot. A few people looked at her strangely.

"Well, I guess you gave me more of a tour than you'd expected," Jack replied, still laughing. "Now you know a new side of me-the one that could get lost in a paper bag."

Rose just giggled, then led him toward the entrance. "This," she told him, finally stopping her laughter, "is the Roxy. A lot of teens hang out here, including a lot of kids from our school. We might know some of the people in there."

They went inside, listening to the loud music and shouting to be heard above it.

"Do you see anyone you know?" Jack shouted to Rose.

Rose looked around. "No one that I really want to go and talk to," she shouted back.

"Me, neither." They both put their hands over their ears, trying to concentrate on the conversation instead of on the music.

"Now what?" Rose asked.

"What?"

"Let's get something to drink," she suggested, gesturing toward the counter.

"Okay."

They both got Cokes and sat down at a corner table, where the music wasn't as loud.

"So, how do you like Edmonton so far?" Rose asked, sipping her drink.

"It's pretty cool. I just moved here, so I haven't seen much yet."

Rose nodded. "It only has around one million people, but I like it anyway. Where were you from before?"

"Santa Monica, near Los Angeles."

"This must seem like a small town in comparison."

He shrugged. "I kind of like it that way."

"I haven't seen much of the US," Rose said wistfully. "I've only ever been to the northern states, although my family did go through L.A. once, a few years ago. I'd like to see the city of Los Angeles. I heard it's an actual city, and not just an airport." She winked at him and then laughed.

"I hear it might be!" Jack laughed.

"But you know those are just rumours."

Jack changed the subject. "What part of town do you live in?"

"Mill Creek. What about you?"

"I live in an area called Millwoods. Is Mill Creek anything like that?"

Rose was a little embarrassed. "Uh...not really. Mill Creek is a lot more...ritzy."

He nodded. "Millwoods is okay. I'm living with my cousin and his wife and kids in their townhouse. It's kind of shabby, but not too bad."

Rose nodded. "I've been to Millwoods once or twice, but it isn't really the sort of area that people from Mill Creek like to spend a lot of time in. It's kind of...run down."

Jack shrugged. He was used to run down areas. Los Angeles had plenty of them, and Millwoods wasn't nearly as bad as some he'd seen. Remembering something, he checked his watch.

"Rose...I just remembered. I'm supposed to watch my cousin's kids tonight. I have to get going."

"So soon?" In spite of herself, Rose was disappointed. She was enjoying spending time with him.

"Yeah. Do you need a ride home?"

Rose nodded. "Yes. Just don't be too surprised if people stare at your car. It's..."

"...kind of old and needs to be washed?" Jack finished for her.

"Yeah."

"Don't worry about it. I don't even notice, usually."

"Well...okay." She smiled. "Actually, it's kind of fun to watch the looks on people's faces when they see something that's not what they expect." She sighed, wishing that they could spend more time together. "Let's go."

Jack was very much in awe of the houses in Rose's neighbourhood. Mill Creek was an area made up of huge, beautiful old houses, near to a ravine, the Mill Creek for which the area was named. He'd seen some beautiful houses before, but none quite like this. And he'd never known anyone who lived in such a nice house, either.

Rose was a little embarrassed by his reaction. She had lived in Mill Creek for a long time now, and she was so used to it that it no longer made much of an impression on her. But Jack had rarely been in such a lofty neighbourhood, and he was able to fully appreciate it.

It made her think of what life was like for people who weren't as well-off as she was. Not everyone went home each day to a house like hers, or had all the privileges she had. She suddenly wondered how her crowd would react to Jack, what they would think of him. Would they accept him as she had, or snub him, as so many well-off people were known to do? On impulse, she turned to him.

"Would you like to come to the country club with me next Saturday?" she asked, smiling. Even if the people she knew didn't accept him, she did, and she could show him the fun things that they could do there.

Jack looked surprised for a moment. Would he even be allowed into her country club?

"Come on," she encouraged. "It'll be fun. And they'll let you in if you're with me."

He hesitated, wondering if he would fit in with her crowd, then nodded. He liked Rose, and wanted to spend more time with her. Briefly, he thought of asking her to come and help him watch his little cousins, but decided against it. It was best not to push things too fast.

"Sure. Count me in," he told her.

Rose smiled, climbing out of the car and walking up toward her front door. She turned for a moment and waved to him, smiling as he waved back and drove off.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

_Sept 7, 2001_

Rose, smiling, walked into the house, threw her bag on the couch, and went into the kitchen to get herself a glass of orange juice.

"Who was that boy I saw you with?" Ruth came inside from the backyard, talking with the gardener.

Rose opened the fridge. "What boy?"

"That boy who just drove away," Ruth stated. "I saw him drop you off when me and Antonio were on the side of the house."

"Oh, that's Jack. We met online, and he goes to my school."

"Be careful who you meet online," she warned her daughter.

Rose sighed.

"Oh, stop it, Mother. You'll give yourself a nosebleed." She threw her cup into the sink and started to exit the kitchen, but her mother stopped her.

"Rose, this is not a game!" Ruth snapped. "There are people out there who could really hurt you." Ruth softened. "I'm sorry. You know I just do this because I love you."

"I know, Mother, and I'll be fine," she assured her, not really sure herself.

* * *

"So, how has your week at school been?"

Jack looked up from the magazine he was reading, to find his Aunt Margaret getting ready to go out to a dinner party with his Uncle John. It was put on by John's boss where he worked. John was his mom's cousin, but it seemed more appropriate to call them aunt and uncle because they were much older than him.

"Not bad. I made some nice friends-"

"That's nice, dear," she interrupted, not really paying attention.

Jack went up to his room and turned on his computer.

"Maybe Rose is online," he said to himself, as he signed on to MSN.

rose_bud2001 is now online. The box at the bottom popped up.

Good timing! He smiled.

JD_in_AB: Hey

rose_bud2001: Hi Jack.

JD_in_AB: Listen. I know we barely know each other and all, and I'm stuck baby-sitting my cousins...well what I'm getting at is, would you like to come over tonight and watch a movie?

JD_in_AB: Tommy, Fabri, Helga, and Dawn will be over here too

He quickly added.

rose_bud2001: Brb, I'll go ask

As if on cue, Rose's phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Rose. Are you coming over to Jack's later?" the voice on the other end asked.

"I don't know, Dawn. I have to go ask my mom. Hold on." She set the phone by her computer, and ran down the hall to Ruth's room.

Rose entered her mom's room and sat on Ruth's bed.

"Mom, is it okay if I go over to Dawn's tonight?" she lied.

Ruth was in her powder room, checking a spot on her forehead.

"Who's going to be there, and how long?"

"The gang, and eleven o'clock."

"Ten o'clock. Rose, it's a school night!"

"10:30!" Rose argued.

"Deal, but I want you in this house by that time."

Rose jumped up and gave her mother a quick peck. "Thanks, Mom."

She returned to her room and typed to Jack.

rose_bud2001: Be there at 7:30

JD_in_AB: Great! See you then

JD_in_AB: Bye

rose_bud2001: Bye

"Hello? Rose? You still there? Rose!" The sudden loud noise from the phone made her jump.

"Oh my God, Dawn! I totally forgot about you! Sorry."

"So, can you make it?"

"Yeah." Rose giggled.

"Great. Pick you up at seven."

The girls said their good-byes, and Rose made off to her giant closet to find something to wear.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

Rose hurried down the stairs as the doorbell rang, letting her know that Dawn had arrived. She stopped for a moment, checking her appearance in a mirror, before hurrying to open the door. She had taken special care with her appearance, but not too much care, lest her mother guess that she wasn't actually going to Dawn's house after all.

"You ready, Rose?" Dawn asked her, as soon as Rose opened the door.

"Yep." Rose laughed, grabbing her purse. "Let's go." She started out the door, then called back inside quickly. "Mom! I'm leaving! I'll be back around 10:30!"

"Have fun, Rose!" Ruth called back. "Stay out of trouble!"

"I will!" Rose hurried out the door with Dawn and climbed into Dawn's car.

"I can't believe your mom is letting you go out on a school night," Dawn remarked, starting the car and driving away.

"Well...I sort of told her that I was going to your house and hanging out with everybody. I mean, you know how protective she is. She wouldn't like it if she knew that I was going to the house of a guy I met online, and over in Millwoods, no less."

"Does she know about Jack?"

"Yeah. She saw him drop me off. When I told her who she was, she warned to be careful of who I meet online." She rolled her eyes, then sighed. "I guess she's right. I mean, there's all these stories about people getting hurt when they meet somebody online who's not trustworthy, but you know, I think Jack is trustworthy. Even though I've only known him a few hours, I just feel safe with him."

"And anyway, if he did try anything, you know who he is and where he lives. He couldn't get away with much."

"Yeah." Rose looked out the window, noticing that they were almost there. As they pulled to a stop in front of a shabby townhouse with several other cars parked near it, she commented, "So this is where Jack lives."

"He didn't already show you on your tour this afternoon?"

"No." Rose giggled. "We spent more time getting lost than anything else. He has no sense of direction."

Dawn laughed as she climbed out of the car and headed for the front door. Ringing the doorbell, they waited until someone opened the door.

"Hey!" Jack greeted them, giving them both a smile. His eyes lingered on Rose, noticing how nice she looked. "Come on in."

Inside, their friends were already sitting around, eating pizza and playing with Jack's little cousins. The little girl was trying to get Tommy's attention, hanging on his arm and chattering away about preschool. The little boy sat quietly, thumb in mouth, watching everyone with wide eyes.

Jack introduced them to the small children. "Johnny, Sandy, this is Dawn, and this is Rose. Can you say 'hi'?"

"Hi," Sandy told them, dutifully, before turning her attention back to Tommy, who looked like he wished she would be quiet. Johnny just stared at them.

"He's a little shy," Jack explained, picking his cousin up. "Are you about ready for bed, Johnny?"

The boy took his thumb out of his mouth. "No," he replied, shaking his head stubbornly.

"Sure you are," Jack told him, carrying him toward the stairs. "I'll be back in a minute. I just have to put him to bed."

"No," Johnny said again, but Jack just carried him up the stairs, not listening to his protests.

Rose rescued Tommy from Sandy. "How are you, Sandy?" she asked. "I hear you're in preschool."

"Yeah," the little girl replied. "Die Kleine Kinderschule! It's fun. We speak English and German. Today we got to play on the swings, and paint, and listen to stories, and..." She jabbered on, excitedly telling anyone who would listen about how her day was.

Jack came back down the stairs. "Sandy," he called, getting her attention. "You can stay up with the grown-ups for a while, but only if you promise to be quiet. Okay? We're going to watch a movie."

"Oh, great. A little kid's movie," Tommy complained.

"Nah, not a little kid's movie. Sandy will get bored pretty quick," Jack told him, looking through the videos on the shelf.

"Will not!"

"Sandy, you need to be quiet. Okay? Otherwise, you can go up to bed, too," Jack reminded her.

"Okay." Sandy quieted, them sat down next to Tommy, who sighed.

"What does everyone want to watch?" Jack asked, turning back to his friends.

There was a chorus of responses. "_The Beach_!" "_Unbreakable_!" "_The Lion King_!"

Everyone looked at Sandy, who had made the last response. "Shh!"

"How about _Star Wars_?" Jack asked, holding up a video.

"Which one?" Fabrizio wanted to know.

"_Episode 1_. It's the only one we have, since Johnny took _The Return of the Jedi_ apart."

"I haven't seen that one. _Episode 1_, I mean."

Jack nodded. "So, is that okay with everybody?"

"I guess." "Yeah, it's fine." "I want to see that."

Predictably, Sandy fell asleep about half an hour into the movie, which was of no interest to the three-year-old. Jack, who had been holding her in his lap to keep her away from Tommy, got up quietly and took her upstairs.

He had just tucked her into bed and closed her door when he saw Rose waiting for him in the hall. Smiling, he walked up to her.

"Hey, Rose. Getting bored with the movie?"

She shrugged. "I've already seen it twice with Dawn. She loves Ewan McGregor."

"Oh." He paused, remembering something. "Rose...about going to the country club on Saturday..."

"Yes?"

"I'm afraid I can't make it. My cousins want to me to watch the kids again."

"Oh." Rose was disappointed.

"Maybe we could go another day?"

Rose thought about it, brightening. "Sure. How about this coming Tuesday, after school? We could...uh...play tennis or something, if you want."

"I don't really know how to play tennis, but I could try it."

"Well...okay...I could show you around, too."

"Okay. Sure, I'd like that."

Rose smiled, relieved that he had agreed to come. She had been afraid that his excuse about having to baby-sit was just to avoid seeing her.

"Great. Tuesday the eleventh it is." She grinned, following him down the hall and back down the stairs.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Jack and Rose walked back to the living room, laughing at some joke he told her. But their laughter was cut short when they entered the dark living room.

"Where is everybody?" Rose asked, surprised, noticing the movie was still playing. They couldn't have gone far.

Jack thought for a moment.

"Hey, cool! Check this out, you guys!" came Tommy's voice from the backyard.

"Oh, shit!" Jack ran to the back door, Rose trailing after him.

"Hey, Dawson!" Tommy grinned when they opened the door. "Looks like you aren't as poor as we thought."

Rose looked at what Tommy was referring to. A medium-size hot tub, right on the run-down deck.

"Let's try it!" Helga started to take off the lid with Fabrizio.

"No. Come on, you guys. We don't have any bathing suits," Jack pointed out. "We'd get our clothes all wet!"

"We could go in our underwear," Rose suggested.

Jack looked in shock as Rose peeled off her clothes and sat down in the tub, his cheeks turning red as he watched everyone join her.

"Jack, if you are just going to stand there, could you at least turn on some music, fetch some towels for later, and get us something to drink?" Dawn smiled sweetly.

"Yeah, sure," he groaned, heading back into the house.

"He is sure modest, isn't he?" Dawn tilted her head to check Jack out as he walked away.

"Maybe he's just shy," Fabrizio suggested. "I mean, you did move kind of fast there, Rose."

"I did, didn't I?" She sighed.

"Hey!"

Tommy, noticing what Dawn was doing, cried out, frowning.

"Aw, isn't that cute? Tommy's jealous!" Fabrizio laughed.

Tommy splashed Fabrizio.

"Am not!"

Just then, Jack came out of the house, arms full of towels, drinks, radio, and baby monitor so he could listen to the kids.

"Anything else while I'm up, Dawn?" He sighed.

"Nah, Dawson. Get in here!"

"And that was Britney Spears new song, _Lucky_, here on Power 92 FM, Edmonton's station for best hits!" the radio blared out. "Now you can win a chance for two to see Britney live when she plays in Las Vegas! Just visit your local HMV and pick up an entry form and answer the question, _What is the name of Britney's new album?_ Deadline September thirtieth."

"Wouldn't that be so cool if we won?" Helga exclaimed, as the radio started playing _Hero_.

"It would," Fabrizio admitted.

Rose yawned.

"It's getting late." She turned to Dawn. "Do you know the time?"

"Uh...10:12." Dawn looked at her watch.

"Oh, crap! Mom is going to kill me!" Rose grabbed a towel and started drying off as fast as she could. "Well, don't just sit there, Dawn! I need to get home."

"I can give you a ride if you need, Rose," Jack said, walking out the back door with more drinks.

"Oh..." Rose looked at Dawn, who had settled back into the hot tub.

"Go ahead." Dawn nodded, glad to not have to leave the party so soon. Rose's mother was much more protective then Dawn's was, so she could stay for another hour before she had to rush home.

"Thanks, Jack." Rose looked at him gratefully, throwing on her clothes.

"You're welcome." Jack disappeared into the house, hurrying to put his clothes on over his swim trunks.

Rose, fully dressed now, went out front to wait for him. A moment later, he came out, his clothes clinging damply to his frame. Rose couldn't help but take a second look, though she did so subtly, not wanting to seem too forward.

"Come on," Jack told her. "Let's get you home before you get into trouble."

Rose nodded. "Could you drop me off down the street a little ways, in case my mom is watching? I kind of told her I was going to Dawn's house, and she'd be suspicious if she saw you drop me off."

"Sure." Jack nodded, understanding Rose's dilemma. When his parents had been alive, they would have been upset to see a strange girl drop him off late at night. His cousins didn't really care, but he could see how Rose's mother would.

* * *

About fifteen minutes later, they arrived back in Rose's neighbourhood. Jack stopped at the house before Rose's to let her out, the view blocked by shrubbery so that her mother wouldn't see who had brought her home. It was close enough that she wouldn't have to walk far, but far enough away that he could leave without being seen.

Rose checked her watch, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw that it was 10:30 on the dot. "Thanks, Jack. You're a life saver. See you in school." Giving him a grateful smile, she got out of the car and hurried up to her house.

Jack watched her hurry away, smiling to himself. He hadn't been so sure that he wanted to live in Canada, not that he had much choice, but it wasn't turning out so badly after all. Granted, his cousins seemed to think of him as a free baby-sitter, but the kids weren't so bad, and he was making friends already. And now, best of all, in his opinion, there was Rose.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

_Sunday, September 9, 2001_

Rose yawned and stretched, sitting up in bed and swinging her legs over the side. A glance at the clock told her that it was past ten. She smiled, standing up.

She hadn't gone out the night before, but instead had stayed at home and spent several hours surfing the Net and chatting with Jack. It had been nearly two o'clock in the morning before she finally logged off, but it had been well worth it.

She and Jack had found out so much about each other in their marathon chat session-when their birthdays were, what they were best at in school, what kind of music they liked best-all sorts of things. Jack had told her that even though he'd been living in Canada for over a month, he still missed the United States, especially California, where he was from. Rose couldn't imagine living anywhere but Canada, even though she had been to Europe, too. Still, she could sympathize. It would be hard to leave the place that she called home, and she sympathized with him, losing both of his parents in a fire. She had lost her father to cancer a year earlier, and even though she had her mother, she still missed him.

She had told him more about the country club, and promised to show him more of Edmonton when there was time. He had offered to take her to the Roxy next Friday, if he didn't have to watch his little cousins, and Rose had agreed, then offered to help him watch the kids if he did have to baby-sit. She was pleased that he'd asked her out, though she wasn't sure yet whether they would get beyond being just friends. She really liked him, but after her experience with Cal, she wanted to move slowly, to take her time and make sure that what she was doing was right.

Rose had told Jack more about the country club, about the kinds of things they could do there. She had always enjoyed playing tennis there, but Jack had told her that tennis wasn't his best sport-in fact, the only time he had ever tried to play tennis was in school in California, and the teacher had promptly informed him that he wasn't supposed to hold the racket like a baseball bat. But because Rose enjoyed the game, he had agreed to try it, too, mentioning that maybe she would be better at teaching him than his teacher had been. She had also promised to take him to dinner at the country club, insisting that she would pay, since she doubted that he had the money to afford to eat in such an expensive place, and anyway, they would only allow members to pay for meals there, under the assumption that only members and guests ever got in. Laughing, Rose had told him, though, that one time a non-member came in, without being anyone's guest, and no one bothered to check to be sure he was a member. When the time came for him to pay, they realized that he wasn't a member, and were at a loss as to what to do. Only members had accounts with them, and they couldn't take any other payment. Rose's father had finally come to the rescue, paying for the man's meal and insisting that he owed them nothing.

Rose was shaken from her thoughts by the sound of her cell phone ringing. Picking it up off her desk, she turned it on.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Rose," Dawn's cheerful voice greeted her.

"Hey. What are you doing up so early?"

"Early? Rose, it's 10:30. I looked for you online, but you weren't there, so I called here."

"I stayed online for several hours last night, chatting with Jack."

"Oh? About what?" Dawn teased her.

"Anything and everything." Rose's voice warmed. "Dawn, he's done so many fascinating things, even though he's only seventeen. He used to live near Los Angeles, and his parents used to take road trips every summer and bring him along. He's been all over the United States, and even to Mexico. He knows all about art, and artists, even the ones who aren't so famous..."

"Sounds like someone's got a crush on him," Dawn teased her.

Rose sighed. "Oh, come on, Dawn. We're just friends."

"Whatever you say, Rose." Dawn laughed. "Hey, I hear you're going to take him to the country club on Tuesday."

"Yep. I promised to show him around, show him some of the fun things that you can do there."

"Like golf?"

Rose wrinkled her nose. "That's not fun."

"He might think it is."

"Well...well, if he does, I guess I'll go along, but I still like tennis better. I could try it, just for a little while, but I just don't see what's so much fun about hitting a little ball into a cup in the ground."

"What's so much fun about hitting a ball back and forth across a net?" Dawn countered.

"You like tennis, too. Don't pretend you don't. You just beat me last weekend."

"Yeah, and good, too!"

"Dawn!"

Dawn laughed. "So, what else are you going to show him, besides tennis and golf and all that?"

"I thought I'd treat him to dinner there."

"Oh, that sounds good. Are you sure you're just friends? He is hot."

"Dawn, I don't know what's going to happen. I want to take it slow, so I don't get into a situation like I was in with Cal."

"Jack seems a lot nicer than Cal."

"Still..."

"Well, don't take it too slow. I may just decide to go after him myself."

"Dawn!" Rose surprised herself at her reaction. She didn't want her best friend going after Jack. Thinking quickly, she teased, "I'm sure Tommy would love that."

Dawn wasn't fooled. "He'd get over it. Come on, Rose. I was teasing you. Jack's all yours. He likes you, too, you know. When he got back after dropping you off the other night, every other word out of his mouth was Rose. Tommy couldn't stop teasing him."

"Really?"

"Of course. You know how Tommy loves to tease people."

"No, I mean about Jack talking about me. What did he say?"

"Oh, that. Well, pretty much just that you're the prettiest girl he's met here, and you have a good sense of humour, and you like art..."

"Really?"

"Just friends, huh?" Dawn laughed. "I'm going to let you go now. You probably want to write all about him in your diary-"

"Journal."

"Whatever. And then call him, or try to see if he's online so you can chat some more."

Rose laughed. "You're right. I do like him."

"Of course you like your friends."

"Dawn!" Rose sighed in exasperation. "Stop teasing me. I just woke up."

"Okay. Okay, Rose. I'll leave you alone now. Want to meet me at the country club at three? I bet I can beat you at tennis again."

"Sure. Maybe you can give me some clues about what to show Jack. I'll see you then."

"Bye, Rose."

"Bye."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

"Whew. That was one tough game!" Rose grabbed her towel to wipe the sweat off her face. They grabbed glasses of water from the bar and walked towards the girls' changing room. "You are getting too good for me there, Dawn."

"Yeah. My Dad got me a tennis instructor. Something about carrying on his footsteps or some junk about how good he was when he was young." Dawn slowed down to catch her breath.

"I-" She stopped, noticing Dawn's mouth wide open. "Dawn, what the-" She was interrupted by Dawn grabbing her by the shirt strap and pushing her through the girls' room door.

"Ow!" Rose cried, rubbing her shoulder. "What was that about?" Dawn was still peeking through the door crack.

"Sorry," she whispered. "But you will not believe who I just saw out there."

Rose bent down to look through so she could see what her friend meant.

"Lovejoy!" she gasped. "And-I don't believe this! Mom!"

"So it's settled, then." Spicer Lovejoy slipped a note to Ruth.

"Absolutely. Let's say the twentieth?"

"Good." He stood up and disappeared.

_Sept. 11, 2001_  
_Edmonton, AB, Canada_  
_6:45 AM_

Jack was still asleep when a little hand reached up and tugged on the blanket covering him. When he didn't move, the hand became more insistent, tugging on his ear.

He groaned, opening one eye to see his cousin Sandy standing next to his bed, grinning widely. "What?"

"Wake up! It's morning!"

"I know. Go away."

"Wake up! Mommy says that if you're late for school, she'll send you to New York to live with Aunt Trudy."

"Trudy's your cousin, not your aunt."

"So? Get up!"

By this time, Jack was wide awake. He could have used another fifteen minutes of sleep, but Sandy was insistent. Grumbling, he got out of bed, watching Sandy dart across the room and out the door, where Johnny sat in the hall, sucking his thumb.

The kid needed Ritalin. Jack was sure of that. How could anyone be so energetic at this hour if they weren't hyperactive?

At least he would get to see Rose this morning. They had chatted on-line last night, and he'd promised to give her a ride to school. Usually, Rose went with Dawn, but Dawn's car was in the shop, or with her mother, but according to Rose, Ruth had been distracted and dreamy-eyed for several weeks, often forgetting that Rose needed a ride, or telling her to drive herself, forgetting that Rose's car broke down on a regular basis and there hadn't been time to replace it yet.

She hadn't been sure why, but had mentioned that she and Dawn had seen Ruth and Spicer Lovejoy, the tennis coach at the country club, together on Sunday afternoon, talking about meeting and exchanging a note. Jack had thought that they were probably just practicing tennis, but Rose had been convinced that it was more. If they were just arranging for a coaching session, why the secrecy?

Shaking his head, Jack put the conversation out of his mind and went to get ready for school.

It was almost 7:40 when Jack picked up Rose and Dawn, who also needed a ride to school. The two girls excitedly discussed the possible relationship between Ruth and Spicer Lovejoy, while Jack listened with half an ear to them, wishing he could have driven just Rose. He liked Dawn, but what he really wanted was a chance to be alone with Rose.

They were just pulling into the parking lot when something on the radio caught Dawn's attention. "Jack, can you turn that up?" she asked, leaning forward to listen more closely.

Jack turned it up, not really paying attention, until Dawn gasped and shouted in shock to the other two.

"Oh, my God! Let's get to the student common room! A plane just hit the World Trade Centre in New York!"

* * *

Jack's face was pale as he rushed into the student common room ahead of Rose and Dawn, hoping that the radio broadcast had been a joke. How would a plane hit the World Trade Centre? And why?

Unfortunately, it was no joke. As Dawn and Rose stepped to either side of him, wondering why he had reacted so strongly, a teacher turned on the television, confirming that what the radio had reported was true.

"My God!" he whispered, staring at the horrifying picture on the screen.

"Jack, what is it?" Rose asked, puzzled as to why he would react so strongly. To be sure, plane crashes were bad, especially if, as was being speculated, they were caused by terrorists, but why was he so upset? Terrorist attacks had happened before. Was it just that it was his native country that was under attack?

"Trudy!" Tears started to form in the corner of his eyes.

"Who?" Rose asked, still in shock, looking at the television.

"My older sister. She works on the ninety-third floor of the World Trade Centre."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

"You have an older sister?" Dawn asked, surprised. Jack had never revealed that particular bit of information to them. Why was he living with his cousins instead of with her? Of course, if what he said was true, he was better off with his cousins in Edmonton than with his sister in New York.

Rose was surprised, too, but her concern for Jack overshadowed that. "Your sister works in the World Trade Centre?"

Jack nodded, blinking his eyes rapidly to hold back tears. "Yes. Or she did. If the damage is as bad as they say, no one is going to be working there anymore. My God."

He looked away from them, trying to wipe his eyes without them noticing. Rose reached into her purse and handed him a tissue. He took it from her without a word.

Rose put a hand on his arm. "Maybe it's not as bad as they say. Or maybe she wasn't there-maybe she was late for work, or had to run an errand or something. Anything is possible, right?"

"Or maybe she got out okay," Dawn added. "You said she was on the ninety-third floor, right? The news said the plane hit above that. Maybe she was able to escape."

Jack brightened a little at this thought, then frowned again, his shoulders slumping. "How could she have? It would have taken a miracle-or great athletic ability-to escape that, and Trudy's no athlete."

"Neither was Rose, the last time she saw her ex-boyfriend, Cal, but you should have seen how fast she ran when she caught sight of him. When someone's scared of something, it's amazing what they can do."

"Yes," Rose agreed. "Don't give up hope yet. Anything could have happened." She looked at the television, listening to the reporter talk. "You see? Some people have gotten out, and they're saying that some people were late for work this morning. And those towers are still standing-I'll bet there's still hope. Don't give up hope until you know for sure."

She looked at him, her face showing her sympathy. He had already lost his parents; what would happen if he lost his sister, too? Impulsively, without stopping to think if the gesture would be appropriate or welcomed, she reached out and hugged him.

Jack stood stiffly for a moment, surprised at her sudden show of affection. Then, slowly, he relaxed and hugged her back, while Dawn looked on, one eyebrow raised.

"Thank you, Rose," he whispered, unable to think of anything else to say.

"It'll be all right, Jack, one way or another. Just don't give up hope."

The bell rang, signalling to the students that it was time to go to class. Jack and Rose stepped away from each other, a little embarrassed by their display of affection. As the student common room emptied, Jack looked around, not sure if he felt like going to class.

"Maybe I should just go home," he mumbled, watching the students rushing toward their classes.

"So you can sit and worry about your sister all day? If you stay here at school, you'll have something to take your mind off of her," Rose told him.

"I don't know..."

"Besides, Dawn and I are going to need a ride home after school, and you know how hard it is to get into the parking lot at the end of the day."

He sighed, not really listening to her.

"And," she added, "you promised to go with me to the country club this afternoon. I'm still holding you to that." She stopped, afraid she had gone too far. Why would he want to go to the country club when such a tragedy had occurred? It did seem a little obscene to be thinking about having fun when so many people-maybe even Jack's sister-were dying.

"Why should I?" he asked her, ignoring the warning bell. "Missing one day of school won't hurt much, and how can I even think of going to the country club at a time like this? It sounds like fun, but I shouldn't be off trying to have fun when my sister might be dead or dying."

The tardy bell rang, but neither paid attention to it, too lost in thought to pay attention to such mundane things as getting to class on time.

Rose looked up at Jack, a thought occurring to her.

"Jack, if this was indeed caused by terrorists-and it seems pretty likely-wouldn't going home and brooding about things be just what they want? They want to bring people's lives to a standstill, to tear things apart. Why give them the satisfaction? I'll understand if you don't want to go to the country club, but you should at least go to classes today. It'll give you something to think about besides your sister, and maybe give you a chance to talk more about it, since some teachers will probably want to discuss it."

Jack nodded thoughtfully, noticing a custodian eyeing them and gesturing in the direction of the door. "We'd better get out of here."

As they stepped into the hall, he looked around, then came to a decision. "I'll stay at school today. I'll even think about going to the country club after school, though if we go, I don't think I'll want to stay too long." He tried to smile. "Back in California, Trudy and I once stood outside a country club and wondered what it was like inside, to be so expensive and exclusive. If she's alive, it'll give me something to tell her about. If not..." He paused, struggling. "If not...it'll at least satisfy my curiosity."

"That's something," Rose told him, reaching for his hand as they started down the hall, ignoring the principal who eyed them suspiciously as he passed by.

As they reached her classroom, she reached for the doorknob, turning to him. "I'll see you at lunch, okay?" she asked, aware that other students were watching them out the window.

"Sure," he said, trying to sound enthusiastic. "I'll tell you whether or not I want to go the country club then, too. All right?"

"Okay." Rose put a hand on his shoulder. "It'll be all right, Jack. I know it will. Now..." She stepped back, starting to open her classroom door. "You'd better get to class, before you get in trouble."

"Sure." He stepped back, starting down the hall. "See you at lunch, Rose."

She gave him an encouraging smile. "Maybe there'll be some news by then."

"Yeah. Maybe." He turned and walked down the hall.

Rose watched him for a moment, before opening the door and going into her classroom.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

"Are you sure you want to go to the country club this afternoon?" Rose asked Jack, waving to Dawn as they dropped her off at home.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Jack turned the car around, heading back into the city.

Rose looked at him, her brow furrowed. He still looked tense and upset.

Jack noticed her look and tried to smile. "It's better than sitting around and thinking about it. You were right about that."

"Sure." Rose leaned forward in her seat to watch where they were going. Jack didn't know where the country club was, and was likely to get lost anyway.

"Any news about Trudy?" she asked after a few minutes.

Jack shook his head. "No. I called home—Aunt Margaret stays at home with the kids during the day—but she hadn't heard anything. All we can do is hope."

"Yeah, I guess so." They'd heard more about it on television that day, but a lot of the news was bad. To be sure, many people had escaped, but by this time the towers had crumbled to the ground, leaving little hope for survival for the people still inside.

They sat in silence the rest of the way, listening to the radio, Rose occasionally giving Jack directions.

When they arrived at the country club about fifteen minutes later, the man at the gate let them through with some reluctance. He knew Rose, but Jack definitely wasn't a member of the country club, and even the appearance of his car spoke of someone who could never be a part of the elite society he saw each day.

They had no trouble finding a place to park, even without valet parking at this time of day. It would be crowded in the evening, though not as crowded as on a Friday or Saturday night, but in the mid-afternoon few people were around.

"Most people are at work, or at home, at this time of day," Rose explained. "And it's a Tuesday. There's a lot more people here on the weekend, but this just makes it easier to show you around."

"Are you sure this is okay? That guard looked real suspicious."

"Lucas? He always looks suspicious. He doesn't like kids much, even the ones who come here all the time, and you're a stranger. Actually, I think he's probably kind of jealous that you got an invitation to the country club, while all he gets to do here is work. It must be boring, watching the gate there."

"Probably. I saw a copy of Sports Illustrated on his counter when we went through."

Rose laughed. "Poor Lucas. He doesn't have much of a life."

"Hey, us poor folks know how to have fun, too."

"I know, but Lucas…is in his own realm."

They stepped inside, Rose nodding to the doorman, who, although he raised an eyebrow at Jack, was far more friendly than Lucas.

"What would you like to see first?" she asked Jack, looking around the main lobby. There were a lot of different things they could do.

"I don't know. What do you do here?"

"All sorts of things. There are no special events right now, but there are tennis courts, an indoor swimming pool, even golf." She looked at Jack, hoping he wouldn't say that he wanted to see the golf course. She knew that many people enjoyed the game, but she had always found it stupefyingly dull, and she couldn't help but remember that Cal had been particularly fond of it.

"Why don't you just show me around? I'm not really prepared to play any sports right now, and I'm not really good at things like tennis anyway."

"What about golf?" Rose held her breath.

Jack hesitated, trying to think of a way to avoid golf without offending her. "Um…well, I played miniature golf a few times back in California, but I can't say I enjoyed it much. I'd rather do things like swimming, or basketball."

Rose laughed, a little relieved. "Well, there's no basketball court here, but there is a swimming pool. If I'd thought of it, I would have asked you to bring your swim trunks."

He shrugged. "I don't mind. It's getting a little too cold to swim, anyway."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Not indoors. It's heated year round."

"Oh…right." He shook his head, feeling stupid.

Rose smiled. "Don't worry about it. One time, the heater broke in April, and people still insisted on swimming in it. I swear, some of them looked like they were going to freeze to death. They finally had to close it down until the heater was fixed." She paused, looking at a clock on the wall. "Anyway…would you like the grand tour?"

"Sure. Why not?"

Rose showed him all around the country club, even the despised golf course, which was still green in the September sunlight. It wasn't so bad, Rose admitted, without a lot of people around, but the place still brought back unpleasant memories, and she preferred to avoid it. Besides, Cal sometimes left work early to play golf, and she didn't want to chance running across him.

Jack enjoyed the tour as much as could with so much weighing on his mind, but by the time they sat down in the country club restaurant for dinner, he was getting tired. Still, he was never one to turn down food, even if he did feel uncomfortable letting Rose pay for such an expensive meal for him. Rose insisted that it wasn't a problem, but he still didn't quite like the idea of accepting something so expensive.

They talked quietly as they ate, trying to avoid the subject of Trudy and her possible fate. Jack was still worried, but was trying not to think about it. There was nothing he could do for her, whatever had happened—but the thought kept nagging at him. What if she was badly hurt, or dead? They had just lost their parents that summer; he didn't know how he could handle losing his sister, too. If only Trudy had come to Canada with him—but she was an adult, twenty-one years old, and she had received a good job offer in New York. No one had anticipated the horrible events of this day.

Jack was drawn from his thoughts when Rose gasped suddenly, looking across the restaurant. She ducked her head, trying to remain inconspicuous, but the person who had startled her had already noticed her.

"Rose? Is something wrong?" Jack asked. He saw a man with dark hair watching them, brow furrowed in annoyance and confusion, but couldn't imagine what had frightened Rose so much.

"He…that man over there…his name is Caledon Hockley."

"And?" Jack had never heard of Caledon Hockley.

"And he's my ex-boyfriend. He has a restraining order, because…well, never mind why. Suffice it to say that I don't want anything to do with him, and now we're in the same restaurant."

"Is that illegal?"

"I don't think so—as long as he stays away from me, but I don't want to be anywhere near him. I wonder if he knew I was here."

"Probably not," Jack reassured her. "It's not like you had reservations."

"Still—let's finish eating and get out of here. I don't trust him." She signalled the waiter for the check.

As they finished their dinners, Rose watched with dismay as Cal and a business acquaintance were escorted to the table next to theirs. She tried to catch the waiter's eye, to let him know that Cal needed to be kept away from her, but he walked away before she could say anything.

Cal had been watching Rose, trying not to be too obvious about it, from the moment he had stepped into the restaurant. He knew that he had to stay away from her, but there was no law that said he couldn't look at her. She and the young man she was with had obviously come straight from school—and just as obviously, the young man was not a member of the country club. He noticed that Rose had taken the bill, meaning that he was her guest.

A surge of jealousy shot through him. Rose was supposed to be his. They had dated the year before, after meeting at the country club in the summer of 2000. But Rose hadn't quite understood what he required in a relationship with her, and had persisted in talking to other men even after he had told her to stop. She had insisted that those guys were just her friends, and nothing else, but he hadn't seen any reason to believe her. How could she be just friends with them? He knew there had been something else going on, no matter how she had denied it.

Still, he had wanted to be with her badly enough that he had put up with her. Rose had been infuriated when he had slapped her for lying to him, and he had been forced to bring her flowers and candy to get back on her good side. He had promised that it wouldn't happen again, of course, but Rose had never kept her end of the bargain. And if there was one thing he could not abide, it was an unfaithful girlfriend.

The situation had come to a head the night he had gone to her house for the evening, when her mother was out at a meeting. Ruth had come home early to find them on the couch, Rose's clothes half-removed. She had immediately struggled out of his arms, running to her mother and accusing him trying to rape her. Nothing could have been further from the truth. To be sure, she had told him no, but if she had really meant it, he would never have gotten as far with her as he did. A girl didn't invite a man to her home when she was alone unless she wanted to go all the way, and all of her protests and struggling didn't change that.

Rose ducked her head when she saw him looking at her, trying to avoid his gaze. Finally, he gave up, turning to his menu and his business discussion. The waiter brought the businessmen their martinis, and the discussion briefly went from business to world events.

Jack tried to ignore them, seeing how nervous Rose was, but the words New York and World Trade Centre caught his attention. He glanced over at them, vaguely recognizing the second man as his cousin John's boss, Victor Richards.

Cal laughed at something Victor had said, then remarked, "The Americans, of course, are crying of being attacked, looking for someone to blame and expecting the whole world to jump in and help them, including Canada. But why should we care? It's not us, and we don't need to be involved in their little disputes. They brought it on themselves, bullying the rest of the world the way they do, and if we get involved, we might be next on the receiving end of one of these attacks. Maybe now America will learn that it doesn't run the world."

Jack bristled, listening to Cal go on. No one deserved to die the way that so many people had that day. He wasn't sure why his home country had been targeted, although he knew that there were some legitimate complaints against America, but this was not the way to solve them. Legislation, fund-raising, activism, yes. Killing innocent people, no. Not only was it wrong, but it didn't solve anything. All that it had accomplished was to raise the ire of people throughout the world, Caledon Hockley notwithstanding.

"So, you support terrorism, do you?" He directed the question at Cal, his voice loud enough to heard around the room. Conversations stopped as people turned to stare.

"What?" Cal stared at him, unable to believe someone had interrupted him this way.

"I asked if you supported terrorism."

Cal sputtered angrily. "I most certainly do not. I was merely remarking upon the events that took place in America today."

"Saying that we brought it on ourselves?" He looked at Cal. "Yes, I'm an American. I'll admit that America isn't perfect, and has done some things that should never have happened. But you can say that of pretty much any country in the world, including this one. And if you really want to look for a bully, try finding out who's responsible for what happened today. That's where you'll find the real bully."

"You obviously have no idea what you're talking about. I've been to America on business, and overseas, and I can tell you that the ugly American is alive and well. That is why America was attacked today."

"A few people fit that stereotype," Rose spoke up, unable to keep silent. "I've been overseas on vacation, too, and most of the Americans there were ordinary people, no better and no worse than anyone else. And a lot of Americans have tried to do good for the world, even if it didn't always work as planned." She glowered at Cal. "I can see you haven't changed any. You personify the ugly Canadian."

"There's no such thing."

"Then how do you explain your existence?" Rose smiled sweetly at him, not caring that they were breaking the restraining order at the moment.

At that moment, a security guard walked up to Jack, after being alerted to the shouting match taking place in the restaurant. Immediately recognizing that Jack was not a member, he took him by the arm and escorted him away from Cal.

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Rose had followed. "But Cal started it," she protested.

"Mr. Hockley was having a quiet discussion with a business acquaintance when—what is your name, sir?"

"Jack. Jack Dawson."

"Jack Dawson rudely interrupted him."

"He was being his usual obnoxious self."

"Mr. Dawson?"

"No, Mr. Hockley. You know him—and me. You know that there's a conflict between us."

He sighed. "That doesn't matter. I have been asked to remove Mr. Dawson from the premises, and he is not welcome to come back."

"Well, I'm going, too. Am I allowed to come back?"

"Of course. You're a member."

"Fine." Rose tucked her membership card into her purse. "Let's go, Jack."

They walked out to the parking lot in silence. When they reached the car, Jack turned to Rose.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Cal had it coming."

"I embarrassed you in front of everyone, though."

"A lot of those people have known me since I was very young. They'll get over it. I'm sorry you had to meet Cal. He wasn't supposed to be that close to me."

Jack sighed, putting his head on the steering wheel for a moment. He was so tired, and the day had just been one disaster after another.

They both jumped when Rose's cell phone rang. She pulled it out of her purse quickly, hitting the talk button.

"Hello?"

"Hello. This is Margaret Dawson. Is Jack there?"

Rose could here small children yelling in the background. "Well…yes, he is."

"Could I speak with him, please?"

"Uh…sure." She handed the phone to Jack, wondering why his cousin was calling him at her cell phone number, and wondering how she had gotten the number in the first place. Rose certainly hadn't given it to her. "It's your Aunt Margaret."

Jack took the cell phone, puzzled. How had she gotten Rose's cell phone number?

"Hello?"

"Hello, Jack. I wasn't sure when you'd be home, so I called. We have news about Trudy."

Jack's heart skipped a beat, then started pounding. What was it? What had happened?

"What…what is it?"

"She's alive. Somehow she made it out of the building—we're not sure how."

"She didn't tell you?"

"It's almost impossible to call New York right now."

"So how did you find out she's alive?"

"We saw her on the news, being interviewed. We turned it on toward the end of the interview, so we don't know quite what happened. But we do know that she's alive, and she looks to be well enough."

"Oh, thank God. I so worried…"

"I know. That's why I called."

"How did you get this number, anyway?"

"You wrote it down and left it on the bulletin board by the phone. Since none of your other friends had see you, and Dawn mentioned that you had gone to the country club with Rose, I decided to try her cell phone."

"Thank you. I feel a hell of a lot better now, knowing that Trudy is safe."

"You're welcome. I'd best go. Sandy just threw rice at Johnny."

"Okay. I'll be home soon, Aunt Margaret."

He turned the phone off and returned it, noticing that Rose had been listening avidly the whole time.

"So Trudy is okay?" she asked, hoping that she had heard right, for Jack's sake.

"Yes, she's fine. My cousins saw her on the news, being interviewed. They don't know how she escaped, but she did. We can find out more when the phone system unclogs. Right now, I'm just glad she's safe."

For the second time that day, Rose hugged him. "I'm so glad. Even though I've never met her, she sounds like she means a lot to you."

Jack hugged her back, overwhelmed with relief. "Thanks, Rose."

They stayed that way for a moment, and then pulled apart, Jack turning on the car and pulling out of the parking space. Rose gave him an encouraging smile.

"Sometimes, things work out in spite of everything."

Jack nodded, agreeing, as they headed for home.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

Rose lay back on her bed, staring up at the ceiling and contemplating everything that had happened over the past two weeks. It was amazing.

Two weeks ago, she had never heard of Jack, and was quite content avoiding any kind of serious relationship with a guy. Now, she wasn't so sure. She felt herself being drawn to Jack, growing closer and closer to him in spite of her worries.

And she had met him in a chatroom, no less. Rose had always disliked chatrooms, never trusting anyone who might be in one, but Jack was different. Right from the start, she had found herself beginning to trust him, and he had given her no indication that her trust was misplaced.

He was so much fun to be with, even when he was brooding over something. She had enjoyed showing him around the country club, in spite of the incident with Cal. She had even gotten him to smile when she had mentioned the secretive meeting between her mother and Spicer Lovejoy.

Rose sat up, thinking about that. What could possibly be going on between those two? She loved her mother, but she had always found Lovejoy to be a dour, unsmiling man, who had little patience with clumsy players. He and Rose had never really gotten along, in spite of her skill in playing tennis, but he had always been friendly enough to Ruth.

Rose's eyes widened as a though occurred to her. What if her mother and Lovejoy had gone beyond just being friends? That could explain the secretive meeting. People probably wouldn't approve of a wealthy country club member dating an employee, and Ruth knew that Rose wasn't fond of Lovejoy.

Rose slid off the bed, reaching for her cell phone. She couldn't wait to tell her new theory to Dawn. Punching in her number, she waited.

"Hello?" Dawn's mother answered the phone.

"Hi. Can I talk to Dawn, please? It's Rose."

"Sure, Rose. Let me go get her."

A moment later, Dawn picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey, Dawn. It's Rose."

"Hey, Rose. What's up?"

"I just got this idea about why Mom and Lovejoy might be meeting in secret."

"What is it?"

"Well, you know how they've always been friendly with each other?"

"Uh-huh."

"Well, what if they've gotten beyond friendship? What if they're dating? You know our crowd would be scandalized."

"Wow. I wonder if it's true. Wouldn't it be weird to have your mom dating Lovejoy? And you don't like him much, either."

"No, but if he makes Mom happy…"

"Well, we don't know what's going on yet. Have you thought about asking your mom what's going on?"

"No, of course not. Then she'd know we were spying on her."

"We just happened to glimpse her."

"And kept on looking. I say we keep our eyes and ears open, to see what's happening. Then, if it seems to be getting into the open—if anything is happening at all—then we can ask questions. But we have to be subtle about it. Otherwise, we might make them nervous."

"Yeah, that's true." Dawn paused. "Speaking of friends who are becoming more than friends, how was your tour of the country club with Jack?"

Rose didn't bother to refute Dawn's words this time. "It was fun, mostly. Jack was pretty quiet, thinking about his sister, but I did show him around."

"Speaking of Jack's sister, has there been any news about her?"

"Yes, there has! Jack's Aunt Margaret called my cell phone number—Jack had left it where she could find it—and told Jack that Trudy was okay. They couldn't get through to her on the phone, since everything in New York is such a mess right now, but they saw her on the news, being interviewed. Somehow she escaped, though they're not sure how, since they only turned on the news at the end of the interview."

"I bet Jack was relieved."

"Oh, yeah. He looked five years younger after he heard the news that she's okay. He drove me home after that, and then rushed on home himself, hoping that there was more news or that they'd show the interview again on television." She paused. "You know, most of the time I don't pay that much attention to things going on in the United States, even big things like this, but it's different when someone you know is affected by it. I felt so bad for Jack. He just couldn't stop thinking about what happened. When we went to dinner, Cal was in the restaurant, too, at the next table—"

Dawn gasped. "Oh, no. Rose, he's supposed to stay away from you."

"I know. And I should avoid him if possible, but he was being so obnoxious…"

"You spoke to him?"

"Yes, after Jack told him off. Cal was going on about how it wasn't Canada's problem, and how the U.S.A. brought it on itself."

"He is such a jerk!"

"Do tell. But Jack accused him of supporting terrorism, and they got into a shouting match."

"That doesn't sound good."

"It wasn't. And then I put in my opinion—which was pretty much in agreement with Jack's—and a security guard came and told Jack that he would have to leave, and not come back."

"And on his first visit, too."

"Yeah. I'm allowed to come back, though, since I'm a member, and since my conflict with Cal is known to security. He probably wouldn't have even been seated near us, except that the waiter who seated him and his business associate was new, and probably didn't know about the problem."

"So what happened?"

"Well, Jack left, and I went with him. He looked so tired and upset when we got to the car. His cousin's call came just at the right time. I've never met Trudy, of course, but Jack seems so fond of her, I was happy to hear she was okay. Had I not known Jack, I probably wouldn't have thought much about the terrorist attacks in America for long, but we're getting kind of close, so it bothered me to see it affect him so much."

"But everything turned out okay. Trudy's fine, and Cal got put in his place."

"Yeah." Rose laughed. "You should have seen the look on his face when Jack interrupted him. No one interrupts the great Caledon Hockley. It was priceless."

Dawn laughed, too. "I'd imagine. He's such a jerk. Rose…Mom needs the phone, so I'd better go."

"Okay. See you in school tomorrow. Are you driving?"

"Yeah. The car's fixed. It just needed a new starter."

"That's good. Well, I'd better let you go before your mom gets mad. Bye, Dawn."

"Bye, Rose."

Rose turned off the cell phone, flopping back down on her bed. It had been a long day, and she was tired.

Setting the phone aside, she went to get ready for bed, her mind still going over everything that had happened.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

_Wednesday, September 12, 2001_

"Hey, Jack!" Rose called, as she caught sight of him. It was almost time for the bell; she and Dawn had gotten a late start that morning. Rose had yelled at Dawn for being so slow, but it hadn't done any good. Dawn did things at her own pace, regardless of how eager Rose was to get to school and see Jack.

"Hey, Rose." Jack hurried over to her, glad to see her. Until yesterday, he'd regarded Rose as a pretty, fun, and interesting girl who was a friend. To be sure, he'd developed quite an interest in her, but they had still been just friends. But now, after the events of the previous day, things had changed between them. He felt closer to her, and wondered if she felt the same way.

"How's everything going?" Rose asked. "Any more news about Trudy?"

Jack shook his head, frowning. "No. We didn't hear from her at all, and the interview wasn't replayed on any of the news shows I watched."

"Well, at least you know she's okay," Rose told him. "That's something. I'm sure you'll find out what's going on sooner or later."

"Yeah, but it's so hard to wait for news. I mean, now that I know she's safe, I want to know what happened, how she got out. Was she late for work? Was she running an errand in another part of the building, or outside of the building entirely? Did she somehow manage to escape from her own office? Not knowing is driving me crazy."

"I'm sure you'll be able to get in contact with her soon," Rose soothed him. "I think the phones are probably still a mess. You know how things can be after a major disaster. It takes a while for everything to start working again."

"You're probably right, but still…"

The bell rang, and the students began scattering to their classes. Rose waved to Dawn, then linked arms with Jack and began heading in the direction of their classrooms.

"You'll get in touch with Trudy sooner or later," Rose told him. "If all else fails, you can always send her a letter using snail mail."

"Yeah." Jack sighed. "I just hope it doesn't take that long."

* * *

The rest of the day went by in a blur, as Jack was anxious to get home and hear any more news that they might have found out about his sister. As soon as the bell rang, he zoomed out of the building, jumped in his car, and headed straight home. He just barely made it in the door when the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Jack?" The voice on the other end asked. It was snowy on the other end, and the voice was fading. "It's Trudy."

Margaret entered the room, with a dish towel in her hand. "Who is it?"

"It's Trudy," Jack mouthed, trying to hear what she was saying. "Trudy? Hello? Are you still there?"

"Yeah. I'm here," Trudy replied, as Margaret picked up the extension. "It's really hard to hear."

"I know. What's going on?"

"I'll be catching a plane out to Edmonton as soon as I can, but it may take a while because of all the heightened security."

"Good," Margaret replied. "We'll be glad to have you. You're more than welcome to stay with us."

"Thanks. I'll do that." The line faded in and out.

"Trudy, how did you survive?" Jack asked, slapping his hand against the phone as if it would make the reception clearer.

"What?"

"How did you survive?"

"I…"

The line crackled, fading out again, and then disconnected.

"Trudy? Trudy?" Jack shouted into the phone, but got only a dial tone. Quickly, he tried punching in her number, but after a couple of rings a recording informed him that the number was not in service.

"Dammit." Jack hung up the phone, frustrated. The phone service in New York City was still sketchy, and they were lucky to have heard from Trudy at all.

At least they knew that she would be coming to Edmonton, but they didn't know when. Security was extremely tight in the United States; planes to there had been rerouted to Canada.

"Don't swear, Jack." Margaret came up behind him, Sandy and Johnny following her.

"It's just so frustrating. I want to know what happened!"

"We all do. But things are a mess in New York right now, so we'll have to be patient."

"Easy for you to say. She's not your sister."

"Jack…" Margaret's voice held a warning note. "Trudy is my cousin, and I am concerned about her. I was very relieved last night to find out she was okay. Don't take that attitude with me."

"Sorry," Jack mumbled. He knew he shouldn't take it out on her; she had nothing to do with it. He was just worried and impatient.

He looked at his two little cousins, who were staring at him as though they expected him to do something strange, and decided that the best thing he could do was to get out for a while. He reached for the phone again, hoping that Rose was home.

"I'm gonna go out for a while, okay, Aunt Margaret?" Jack told his cousin. "I'm just going to see if Rose wants to come along."

"That's fine, Jack. Just be back by ten. It is a school night."

"I know." Jack sighed, hoping that Rose was around and wanted to go out for a while.

* * *

"It's a beautiful night." Rose sighed, looking up into the night sky. It was at this moment, he thought, she had never looked so beautiful.

It was almost nine o'clock, but they still had some time before they had to go home. Jack had picked Rose up at her house that afternoon and driven around for a while. Rose had listened quietly while he told her about Trudy's phone call, then offered to help get things ready for when she arrived. Jack had appreciated the offer, but knew that Margaret would want to do it herself.

After that, they had driven out of the city. They had stopped for dinner at McDonald's, then found a quiet, out-of-the-way place to sit and watch the night sky. They sat close together, enjoying each other's company.

Rose glanced at Jack as he took her hand. She had been worried about getting too close to him, after what she had gone through with Cal, but things were so different this time. She trusted Jack. She couldn't say why she trusted him; it was almost instinctual. There was no way to pinpoint her feelings; they simply were. She liked him—more than liked him, she admitted—and trusted him.

Jack caught Rose's glance and watched her for a moment, almost mesmerized by her expression. She looked so beautiful in the starlight, her face calm and peaceful. When she turned back to him, their faces were only inches apart.

Jack caught his breath, wondering if he dared. She was so close, and they were alone in the cool, starlit night.

Rose stared at Jack, her heart beginning to pound. Would he kiss her? Did she want him to? She immediately answered her own question. Yes, she did want him to kiss her. But what if he didn't? What if he didn't want to?

Jack made his decision. It was now or never. Leaning in, he kissed her gently, almost surprised when she immediately returned the gesture, her arms wrapping around him. He embraced her, his hands running over her soft red hair. She pulled away for a moment, her eyes wide, then returned to kissing him.

All of Rose's fears vanished in that moment. Cal…the misery of their short relationship…all of that was in the past. Jack was here now, and she wanted nothing more than to stay with him this way. She was so comfortable with him, so content. She wondered if he felt the same way.

They broke apart a moment later, still holding each other close. Rose rested her head against Jack's shoulder, wishing that this moment never had to end.

"Rose?" Jack whispered into her soft hair.

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

Rose looked up at him, her eyes reflecting the starlight.

"Jack…I love you, too."


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

_Thursday, September 13, 2001_

Jack and Rose walked into school the next day hand in hand. All of their friends turned to stare at them, noticing not only the hand-holding, but also the happy, secretive smiles they kept giving each other.

Dawn was the first to speak. "Okay, what's going on? Are you two an item now, or what?"

"We're an item," Rose confirmed, grinning up at Jack happily.

"Yeah," Jack added, making her laugh.

"I knew it!" Dawn clapped her hands together. Turning to Tommy, she told him, "You owe me."

"You two were betting on this?" Rose asked, a bit shocked.

"Well…yeah." Tommy looked a little sheepish.

"I don't believe this!"

"Oh, come on, Rose. I was rooting for you two," Dawn told her, stuffing a few blue five dollar bills that Tommy had handed her into her pocket. "I knew you'd get together."

"Dawn!"

"Was I right, or was I right?"

Rose finally relented. "You were right." She put an arm around Jack.

"Hey, no public displays of affection," Tommy told them.

"You're a fine one to talk," Jack replied. "Weren't you making out with Dawn in the gym the other day?"

Dawn blushed. "I thought we were alone."

"You're never alone at school," Rose told her. "Haven't you learned that by now?"

Dawn punched her playfully on the arm. Rose pretended to be hurt, making everyone laugh when Jack kissed the spot to make it better.

The bell rang, signalling that it was time to go to class. Reluctantly, the group broke up, heading in their separate directions. Jack and Rose walked toward their classes together, still hand in hand.

"See you at lunch, Jack," Rose told him, giving him a quick kiss. A passing teacher stopped, gesturing to them to get to class.

Ignoring the teacher, Jack kissed her back. "Yeah. See you then, Rose."


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen**

_September 13, 2001_

After saying good-bye to Rose and Dawn, Jack went with Tommy and Fabrizio to computer class. Everybody was just sitting around and talking, because their teacher was in a staff meeting. It was a free period, so they could do whatever they wanted.

"So Jack and Rose are a couple now?" Fabri asked Tommy. Their computers were side-by-side on the other side of the room from Jack's.

Tommy grinned, catching a glimpse of Jack staring off into space. "Yeah. Me and Dawn saw them at our lockers, all over each other!"

"Like you and Dawn under the bleachers?"

Tommy's grin faded. "God, does everyone know about that?" he said, a little too loudly.

Everyone turned to look at him.

Jack, who was snapped out of his Rose daze by his friend, went back to his computer. He clicked on the little email icon on the computer and signed on. _You have 2 new messages_, the screen read. He smiled as he saw one from Rose, but the look turned into shock as he saw who the second one was from.

Trudy Bolt.

For a moment, he just sat there in disbelief, but opened it anyway.

_Jack,_

_Hey, there, lil' bro! Sorry for any trouble I put you guys through, but don't worry. My building was evacuated, but my friend Sally in Rochester has let me stay at her house until I leave for Edmonton, and the damage is looked at. I will be there in about three days! And I have a surprise :)_

_Love,_

_Your sister,  
Trudy_

Jack just stared at the screen, wide-eyed. He was glad to know that Trudy was okay, but the e-mail gave him even more questions. Why had she changed her last name to Bolt? And what was her surprise?

He sighed, sitting back. He would just have to wait to find out—even though the curiosity was nearly overwhelming him. Three days seemed like forever when he had so many questions.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

_Sunday, September 16, 2001_

The whole group sat around the pool at Rose's house, enjoying the day's bright sunlight. It was too cold now to swim, so they lounged on the pool furniture, drinking sodas and eating pizza and chips.

Jack and Rose sat in the poolside swing together, feeding each other pizza and ignoring everyone else, while Tommy and Dawn sat on the diving board and made out. Helga and Fabrizio sat at the table, talking and laughing at Fabrizio's mistakes as he practiced his English.

Tommy and Dawn jumped apart guiltily as Ruth came into the pool area, portable phone in hand. "Jack, your Aunt Margaret is on the phone."

Jack took the phone from her. "Hello?"

"Jack, what time to you plan on being home?"

"I don't know. Why?"

"Trudy is going to be here around four. She wants you to meet her at the airport."

"Oh, she is? Yeah, I'll be there." He looked up as Tommy and Dawn joined them on the swing. "I'd better go. I'll meet her there. Bye, Aunt Margaret."

"Bye, Jack."

Jack hung up and set the phone on the table.

"What's going on?" Rose wanted to know.

"My sister Trudy is going to be at the airport at four o'clock. I'm going to pick her up there. Do you want to come with me?"

"Sure. I'd like to meet her."

"Hey, we'd like to meet her, too," Dawn complained. "Why didn't you invite us along?"

"My car only holds four people, and she'll have luggage, too."

"Why don't we meet you at your house after you pick her up?" Fabrizio suggested, catching the conversation.

Jack thought for a moment. "Sure. That would work. We'll probably get there around five."

"We'll meet you then." Dawn turned to Rose. "Hey, Rose, I wanted to ask you something."

"What?"

"You know how one of the cheerleaders got kicked off the squad for getting high?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"We're holding tryouts for her replacement on Thursday. You should try out."

"I don't know, Dawn…I don't think I'd be very good at it."

"Oh, sure you would."

"Besides, wouldn't it be unfair? You are captain of the cheerleading squad, and I am your best friend…"

"Well, I don't have all the say in the matter. The coach has more say than I do. Come on, Rose. It'll be fun."

Rose rolled her eyes at Dawn, but finally sighed and nodded. "Okay. I'll try it. Just don't say I didn't warn you."

"You'll be great. Trust me."

"Whatever you say." Rose rolled her eyes again and turned back to Jack.

* * *

Jack and Rose arrived at the Edmonton International Airport just before four o'clock. The flight was on time, so within a few minutes Trudy appeared to claim her luggage.

Jack started toward her, then stopped, stunned. Trudy had a baby in her arms, and was followed closely by a young man who was also carrying a baby. Her stared, not coming any closer, while the man handed Trudy the baby and collected the luggage, piling it on a cart.

Finally, Jack approached them. "Trudy!" he called, waving to her.

"Jack!" Trudy took a couple of steps toward him, balancing the babies in her arms.

They stared at each other for a moment, not sure what to say. The man accompanying Trudy came to stand at her side.

Trudy finally found her voice. "Jack, I…this is my husband, Kenneth Bolt, and our twin daughters, Emma and Julie, who are four months old today."

Jack's mouth snapped open and closed for a moment as he stared at the babies. "You never told me you'd gotten married, not even last summer when you came to the funeral. I didn't know you had kids, either."

"Well, I…Jack, you know that I didn't get along too well with Mom and Dad. They didn't want me moving to New York, and when I mentioned to them that I was getting married, they blew a fuse. You know how you came to visit New York that one time?"

Jack nodded.

"Well, I introduced them to Kenneth then. You were somewhere else-I'm not sure where, but they didn't like him, so I didn't introduce him to you. That's why I never told you about the wedding, either. The twins were born in May, but I left them at home when I went to the funeral. I didn't need all those questions."

Jack wasn't sure what to say. He'd just seen a whole new side to his sister. Instead, he stared at the twins-his nieces, he realized. They stared back him with wide eyes, absolutely identical except for the fact that one was drooling. He couldn't tell them apart.

"Uh…Trudy…uh…this is my girlfriend, Rose DeWitt-Bukater. She came with me to meet you."

Trudy nodded. "Hello, Rose."

"Hi."

"Uh…I hope there's enough room in the car for everyone. I didn't expect anyone to come with you."

"We can get a taxi, if we need to."

"Well…let's see how this works. Maybe we can fit you in. Maybe we can tie some of your luggage to the roof." He turned toward the terminal doors. "Come on."

Trudy walked beside him, while Rose helped Kenneth push the cart of luggage.

"Jack-I'm sorry that I didn't tell you that I had gotten married, or that I had kids. I was afraid that you would tell Mom and Dad, and they would get upset again. You know that we had some problems in my…younger, wilder years. I grew up, but they still didn't trust me. Then, after they were gone, I didn't know what to say. You were so upset over losing them, I didn't think it was the right time to tell you about Kenneth and the twins. I was going to break the news to you slowly, and invite you to come to New York with me, but then Maggie and John revealed that Mom and Dad had given them custody of you if something happened to them, and you were actually going to leave the country. I needed to get home, both because of the twins and Kenneth and because I was starting a new job, and they wanted to get back to Canada as quickly as possible, so…I just never found the right time. I wanted to tell you, but…I didn't know how."

Jack nodded, still hurt that she hadn't trusted him enough to tell him that he had a brother-in-law and two nieces, but trying to understand. She was right; things had been tense between her and their parents, and he guessed that it would have been a bad time to tell him about her marriage and children just after their parents had died. And, too, it probably had been hard for her to tell him about her family after all the time that had passed.

"I'll tell you more after we get to your house," Trudy promised.

"Well…uh…my friends are going to be there, too. They wanted to meet you. I guess they'll meet more people today than they thought."

"Maybe later, then."

"Yeah. For sure."

* * *

Jack's friends were waiting when they arrived at the townhouse. All of them gaped at the sight of not only Jack's sister, but also her husband and identical twin daughters.

Tommy recovered his voice first. "Jack, you didn't tell us you were an uncle."

Jack shrugged. "I didn't know."

"You didn't know?"

"It's a long story. Can you help us get the luggage inside?"

"Sure."

Once they were inside, Trudy and her family settled on the living room couch, Jack beside them. Everyone else stood around, or sat on the floor. John, Maggie, and their kids sat in the two easy chairs in the room, staring at the Bolts incredulously.

"Why didn't you tell us you were married?" Margaret asked Trudy, shocked at the sudden appearance of three new relatives.

"Like Jack told his friends outside, it's a long story, and it's been a long day already, with all the trouble to get on the plane and everything. I'll tell you later, okay?"

At Margaret's nod, she turned to Jack. "Well, _uncle_, how would you like to hold your nieces?"

Jack was a little taken aback at the offer. "I…I guess I could." He looked at the babies a little nervously. Would they cry when he held them? He hardly knew anything about babies.

Trudy laid an infant in each of his arms, showing him how to hold them securely. They fussed for a moment at the strange arms holding them, but calmed when their mother leaned over them and cooed reassuringly at them. Jack stared at them, not quite believing that he was an uncle.

"They are so cute, Jack," Rose commented, kneeling down and looking at them.

One of the babies gripped Jack's ear and tugged on it. "Uh…yeah," he said, pulling his ear free of the baby's grasp.

"Isn't it cute? Jackie's an uncle." Jack shot Tommy a baleful glare, but he was unfazed. "I guess you'll learn to change diapers and feed them now."

"Si," Fabrizio added. "Then, when you and Rose have babies, you'll know how to take care of them."

"Shut up." Jack glared at them, but he couldn't be too offended. He was glad that his sister was safe and alive, even though she had gotten married and had babies without ever telling him. He hadn't known Kenneth for more than an hour, but he seemed nice, and Trudy certainly seemed happy with him. And the babies were cute, even if one of them did like to tug on his ears.

He had another question in mind at the moment, though.

"How did you escape from the World Trade Centre?"


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

Trudy was silent for a moment, pulling the babies into her lap. She cuddled them, and then finally spoke.

"There were a lot of people late for work that morning, which turned out to be a blessing, but I was waiting for one of my co-workers to get there, and was getting impatient. We were supposed to be working on a project together. Anyway, I was drinking a cup of coffee, checking my e-mail, and chatting with a couple of other co-workers when she came in, panicking and hyperventilating. We'd heard a thump, and the lights had flickered for a second, but we really hadn't given it much thought until then.

"She told us that a plane had just hit the North Tower of the World Trade Centre. Of course, we were all shocked, and ran to a window to see. It was horrible.

"There were flames in the airspace south of the North Tower and west of us. It turned out that the flames were from fuel that had gone clear through the first tower, but we didn't know that then. All we knew was that a plane had hit the tower, doing massive damage. We didn't know if the plane had hit it deliberately, or if it had been an accident, but the fact that it was bad was obvious.

"I stood there frozen for a moment, and then took off running. Ever since Mom and Dad died, I'd been terrified of fires, and this one looked like it could take out a whole block or more. Even after the worst flames were gone, there were still thousands of flaming papers in the air. All I could think about was getting out. My boss yelled at me to stop, and so did my co-workers, but nothing was standing in my way. I was determined to escape.

"I got into the elevator and went down about thirty floors before it occurred to me that an elevator was one of the worst places to be in a fire. At the sixty-third floor, I got out and headed for the stairs. I went down them faster than I thought possible—there was so much adrenaline racing through me that I hardly noticed how far I had run. While I was running, they flashed the emergency strobe lights, rang out the alarm system, and announced that the building was secure. I almost stopped, thinking that maybe they'd gotten the fire out and had the situation in the other tower under control. I went into one of the offices, and there were people gathered around a window, some of them crying, some of them just looking shocked. I looked to see what they were staring at, and saw people falling, jumping from the upper floors of Tower One."

Trudy blinked her eyes rapidly, rocking the babies as they began to cry, sensing their mother's distress. "It was the most horrible thing I've ever seen. There were still flames and smoke coming from the North Tower, and maybe that was what drove people to jump, but they had no chance of surviving a fall from that height. I saw one woman fall who was still clutching her purse, as though she might need it when she got to the ground.

"Then I panicked again, afraid that the fire would spread to the South Tower and kill more people. I went back to the stairwell and started running down the stairs again. I had stopped on the fifty-second floor, and when I was passing the forty-seventh floor, there was a rumble and the building started to shake. It seemed to twist a little, and part of the ceiling above me came apart, as did a little bit of the floor below. I was in the process of taking a step when this happened, so I lost my footing and tumbled down to the landing. Luckily, it was only about five stairs down to the landing, so I wasn't badly hurt. I twisted my ankle a little, but someone else who was also on the stairs helped me up. There was this awful swaying motion to the building, like it was about to go over, but luckily it stopped after a few seconds.

"I knew, somehow, that a plane had hit our tower, too. I don't know how I knew—it could have been an explosion or something. Maybe it just seemed logical, since a plane had hit the other tower. Anyway, the man who had helped me up went along with me as we went down the next few flights of stairs. When we reached the forty-fourth floor, we went out because there was a sky lobby there, and there was a security guard there trying to help a man with massive head injuries. He was talking to a couple of other men, telling them that his phones were out, and that the man he was trying to help needed medical attention. They were the only ones there.

"We didn't approach them—there was nothing we could do—but the man who had helped me up left to see if he could find help for the injured man. That was the last I saw of him. I hope he made it out alive. He'd been talking to me on the way down, just making conversation to distract me, and he'd said he was just two months away from retirement, and he and his wife were planning to travel. It would be horrible to be so close to fulfilling a dream like that, and then lose everything you'd hoped for in such a terrible disaster. I never even learned his name, so there was no way I could check to find out what had happened.

"My ankle was hurting more by that time, but I didn't stop. I went back to the stairwell and continued down. I took out my cell phone and tried to call 9-1-1, but I'd damaged it somehow when I fell down the stairs, and it didn't work. I stopped on the thirtieth floor and used a receptionist's phone to call Kenneth and tell him that I was alive, and then called the twins' baby-sitter and told her the same thing. Kenneth urged me to get out of the building as quickly as possible, for fear that a fire would overtake it, or someone would do further damage to it—by that time, terrorists were strongly suspected in the plane crashes, especially since it had also happened at the Pentagon. I tried calling 9-1-1 again, but someone had already reported the injured man on the forty-fourth floor, so I went back to the stairs and kept going down.

"I was moving more slowly by then—my ankle was really hurting—but I kept going all the way down to the Plaza level. It was shocking, not so much because of what was there, but because of what wasn't. Usually, there was a flowing fountain, businesspeople coming and going, vendors, tourists…and this time it was deserted. I just stared for a moment before moving on, going down a stopped escalator—the electricity was out there—and followed the instructions of some women at the bottom of the escalator. They told me to go through the Victoria's Secret shop and exit through the Sam Goody store. There were policemen and firemen around, and some other evacuees, but no one was panicking there. Either they felt safe so close to the exit, or everyone had expended their panic somewhere else.

"I got out of the building and crossed Liberty Street, going as fast as I could to avoid falling debris. There was no traffic, and almost no people except for a few evacuees and emergency workers. There were some emergency vehicles, but it was mostly deserted, like the freeway when there'd been a bomb threat back in California. There were some people standing in doorways, protecting themselves from the falling debris, but otherwise—it was so deserted that it was eerie. I didn't even see anyone from the media there, which surprised me.

"It didn't seem safe to stay near the building, so I walked past the fire hall and down another couple of blocks, to Trinity Church, where there were a few people gathered. I could see the World Trade Centre from there, and one guy said that he thought it might go down. It was built strong—all that steel and everything—but then, it usually just faced wind, not crashing airliners and fire. The way the building had twisted and leaned to the side, I thought he might be right, but it was horrifying to see that he was. The building just started to collapse, leaving no chance for the people still inside the upper floors at all, and almost none for those on the lower floors. This happened just minutes after I had left the building.

"There was an enormous amount of dust coming toward the church, so all of us ran. Someone helped me along—I don't know who. We went along Broadway to another building, where we waited for about half an hour for the dust to clear enough to make the air breathable. The sky was full of dust, ashes, smoke, and soot, and it coated the ground like a warm snow. There were no cell phones or land lines working at all, so there was no way to phone anyone and let them know that I had made it out safely.

"I knew that I would have to walk home—there didn't seem to be any taxis or buses around, and I doubted the subway system was running. A woman with a sprained wrist who had been in the building I had taken shelter from the dust in had taken off her Ace bandage and given it to me when she saw how badly I was limping, but it still hurt to walk, and our apartment was a good thirty blocks away. I guess I could have stayed where I was, but I wanted to get home to the twins.

"I started walking, in spite of the pain, but before I had gone more than a couple of blocks someone from the media saw me, and asked if I was from the World Trade Centre. I don't know what tipped her off—maybe it was the fact that a woman in a business suit was limping down the street, covered in dust and soot. I said that I was, so she wanted to interview me. There was a cameraman there, too, and pretty soon some other people saw what was going on and came over to me, too. I just wanted to get home, but everyone seemed so concerned, and they already had the cameras running. I let them interview me about what happened—that was the interview that was on television. I didn't give all the details, because I was sure that there were other people who also had stories to tell, and then started walking home again.

"I don't know how I made it so far on my sprained ankle, but somehow I made it fifteen blocks before I had to stop. There was more traffic at that distance, so I was able to hitch a ride. I know that hitchhiking is dangerous, but by that time I didn't care. They dropped me off at my building, and I made my way up to my apartment, more grateful than I'd ever been for the elevator. The baby-sitter was waiting in the living room with the twins in her arms, and Kenneth was watching the news, hoping for some word on me. I guess they hadn't aired the interview yet, or hadn't aired it on the station he was watching.

"I'd lost my key, so I banged on the door for them to let me in. Kenneth opened the door, and I've never seen such relief on anyone's face. He grabbed me, soot, dust, and all, and carried me into the living room. The twins started screaming when they saw me—I looked pretty frightening with that coating of dust and soot. Kenneth had come home to wait for me after I'd called him, hoping that I would make it out.

"I was so glad to be home, in spite of the crying babies and sore ankle. Kenneth would hardly let me out of his sight, except to allow me to shower and change. The twins stopped crying after I was cleaned up, and I just sat in Kenneth's arms and cuddled them. The sitter, who is a neighbour of ours, left and spread the word that I had survived the World Trade Centre, and pretty soon half the people on our floor were there, helping with the babies, bringing food, watching the news. A doctor who lives in the building came down and examined my ankle, and the minister of our church came over to see how I was doing."

She paused, taking a deep breath. "Since then, life has felt more precious to me. I don't take it for granted anymore. No one expected those planes to hit the World Trade Centre—or if they did, they didn't tell us—and it brought home to me how good it is to be alive. Little things that I used to not really notice mean more now." Trudy turned to her brother. "I think I understand your philosophy on life now, Jack—make each day count. You never know what's going to happen next, so make the most of each moment, and value what's really important in life—the people who care about you, and doing the things that make life worthwhile. I've spent too much time wasting my life, first with partying and having a good time, with no thought to the future, and later with trying to make as much money as possible. Those things don't matter as much now, though I still miss my boss and co-workers, all of whom I liked and none of whom made it out alive."

Her eyes overflowed, and she wiped them quickly. "Please excuse me. This is a difficult subject to talk about. So many people died in such a horrible way, and I knew some of them."

Everyone was silent, none of them condemning her for crying after hearing the tragic story. Rose and Dawn were both teary-eyed themselves, and Jack moved to sit beside his sister, giving her and the babies a hug. John leaned towards his cousin.

"At least you made it out alive. We were all worried about you when we heard what had happened, especially Jack. You and your family are welcome to stay here as long as you like. We'll find space for you somewhere."

"Thanks, Uncle John." Trudy nodded, glancing at her husband, who looked like he agreed with the idea, and then leaned back tiredly against the couch, closing her eyes as Jack and Kenneth took the fussing babies from her.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty**

"You kids are welcome to stay for dinner, if you like."

"No, thanks." Dawn grabbed her coat and dragged Tommy towards the door. "We have reservations at Earl's. Thanks for the offer, though."

Fabrizio got up and glanced at the blond girl next to him. "Sì! Helga and I have curfew. It is set up by Exchange Canada, so our host parents don't worry."

"Thank you for the offer, though." Helga smiled.

Margaret looked at the people remaining in the living room. Trudy had taken the babies upstairs for naps, then decided to lay down herself for a while, exhausted by the emotions brought forth by telling her story. John, Kenneth, and Jack still sat on the couch, while Sandy sat in Rose's lap and Johnny played by himself on the floor.

"Rose? Do you want to stay for dinner?"

Rose looked at Jack uncertainly. "I'm not sure. Jack and I were thinking of going somewhere tonight, but if you want to have a family dinner…"

"I think we'll wait on that until tomorrow night," John told her, getting up and taking Sandy from her. "It's already six o'clock, and everyone is tired. Since nobody seems to want to stay, I think we'll just heat up some leftovers." He looked to his wife for her opinion.

Margaret nodded. "Yes. I think tomorrow will be better for a big dinner. Jack, you can go, if you want."

Jack nodded, then glanced at Kenneth. It had been so long since he had seen his sister, but he would be back later, and the Bolts were planning on staying for at least three weeks.

Kenneth saw the glance and nodded. "Go ahead, Jack. Trudy was pretty tired when she went upstairs. She'll probably sleep until morning, or at least until the twins start fussing. If I get to them first, she can get a good night's rest—the first she's had since Tuesday. She won't mind if you go out with your girlfriend tonight."

"Okay." Jack got up, offering Rose a hand to help her up off the floor. He looked back at his cousins. "I won't be out too late—probably not later than eleven."

John nodded. "That's fine, Jack. Go on. Stay out of trouble."

"Don't I always?" Jack made a face at his cousins as he and Rose walked out the door, hand-in-hand.

* * *

"Where do you want to go?" Rose asked, as they got into the car and pulled away from the townhouse.

Jack shrugged. "I don't know. What about you?"

Rose thought for a moment. "Why don't we get a pizza and go back to my house? I have some DVDs we could watch."

He nodded. "Sounds good. I have to admit, I'm kind of tired."

"Me, too. It's been an eventful day. What your sister said about the World Trade Centre…how awful. All those people died, and for no good reason."

"I know. I read that there were some American religious leaders who said that God caused the tragedy, because of all the sins America has committed."

"What do you think?"

"I think that's bullshit. America isn't a horrible, sinful place, or that it is rotting from within, like one of those people said. God didn't hijack those planes—people did. I don't know, but I think it was more likely that God was making people late for work and sending them fleeing from the building." He grew quiet, thinking about just how close he had come to losing his sister. "Or making normally rational people panic, ultimately saving their lives. It could have been worse, but a lot of people did survive, and a lot more got together to help. Those damned terrorists didn't destroy America like they'd hoped—what they succeeded in doing was getting people to come together." He laughed dryly. "I'll bet that wasn't what they had in mind."

Rose leaned forward as they pulled into the parking lot of their favourite pizza place. "Probably not. But it's sad that so many people died—people that had friends and families, and hadn't done anything wrong. It'll be a long time before people start to forget, I'm sure."

"I don't think Americans will ever forget."

Rose raised an eyebrow. "You've taken history, Jack, just like I have. Even if the people who lived through it don't forget, the ones who come after will, and it'll just be one more thing in the history books. You know, 'those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it', like my history teacher, Ms. Brown, says."

Jack shuddered at the idea. "I hope not." He shook his head, trying to put the thought out of his mind. "Let's go get something to eat."

* * *

Jack and Rose sat on the end of Rose's bed, their plates heaped with pizza, while Rose grumbled at the remote control for her DVD player.

"I hate new technology," she grumbled. "I always have to learn how to use it. How do I get this thing to play the movie?"

Jack didn't know much about DVD players, but he leaned over to look at the remote anyway. "Maybe it would help if you pushed play," he suggested.

Rose gave him a baleful look. "Duh. I already tried that." Sighing, she pushed the play button again, to be rewarded with the start of the movie. "Well, I'll be damned. It worked this time. Maybe I didn't push it hard enough last time."

They sat back against a stack of pillows, eating pizza and watching _The Quick and the Dead_. Halfway through the movie, they leaned back drowsily, stuffed with food and tired from the long day.

Rose looked up as Jack leaned against her, then smiled when she saw that he was sleeping peacefully. Turning off the television, she set the remote aside, leaning against him and reflecting that he was cute when he was asleep.

* * *

The sound of a car door slamming jolted Rose awake. Sitting up so quickly that she felt dizzy, she shook Jack, who was only starting to wake up.

"Jack, wake up! Somebody's here!"

He sat up, rubbing his eyes, not sure where he was for a moment. "What?"

"Somebody's here!" Rose jumped up and hurried to her window, pulling back the curtains and looking out. "It's Mom. She was taking tennis lessons at the club, and then having dinner. I didn't expect her home so early…oh, no."

"Now what?"

Rose pointed to the clock. "Jack, it's 11:30! You were supposed to be home half an hour ago, and I wasn't supposed to have you over here at all." She looked out the window again, her eyes widening at the sight of the man who had accompanied her mother home. "Oh, my God. Dawn was right."

"About what?"

"About Mom and Spicer Lovejoy. Look."

Jack looked out the window, his eyes widening at the sight of Rose's mother kissing a man dressed for playing tennis. "Who is he?"

"He's the tennis instructor at the club. No wonder Mom stayed out so late."

"I think I remember you and Dawn talking about him."

"Yeah. We thought he might be in a relationship with Mom, but we weren't sure. It would be something they would have to hide, of course. Our crowd would be scandalized."

"Why?"

"Because he works for us, that's why. I mean, you saw how shocked some people were when you visited the club with me. Well, it's even more shocking to get involved with someone who works there, unless they're the owner or something."

"What do you think of him?"

Rose shrugged. "I'm not real fond of him. He's kind of mean sometimes, and acts stuck-up when people don't learn tennis as fast as he'd like. But if he makes Mom happy…I guess I can tolerate him. She's been so sad since Dad died…but she seems a lot happier now." She looked out the window again, then stepped back as Ruth looked up.

The front door opened a moment later, and they could hear Ruth saying good night to Lovejoy. Rose looked around the room frantically.

"If Mom finds you're here, we're both in trouble," she whispered to Jack. "You need to hide…" She pushed him towards her walk-in closet. "In here. Don't come out until I open the door."

"Rose…" Jack protested, but she had already shoved him inside and closed the door.

Trying to look innocent, Rose left her room and greeted her mother as she came up the stairs. "Hi, Mom. How was your evening?"

"It was fine, Rose. I'm guessing that you know about Spicer and me now."

Rose nodded her head. "Um…yeah. I saw you from my window."

"I know you don't get along with him very well, Rose, but—"

"It's fine, Mom. If he makes you happy, then…I'm happy for you. I'll try to get along with him."

"Thank you, Rose." Ruth stopped, looking into Rose's room. "All right, Rose. Where is he?"

Rose knew immediately who her mother was referring to, but tried to hide it. "Where is who?"

"Jack. I know he's here, Rose. I saw the two of you in the window."

"Well…uh…"

"Rose, you know that I don't like you to have boys over when I'm not here. Remember what happened the last time?"

Rose turned red, remembering her mother walking in on Cal's attempt to rape her. "That was different, Mom. Jack is nothing like Cal."

"The rule still stands, Rose. You're only seventeen, and I don't want you getting into trouble."

"We didn't do anything wrong, Mom. We just ate pizza and watched a movie."

"On your bed, when no one else was here. Believe it or not, Rose, one thing can lead to another, even if you don't intend it."

"Mom…"

"I'm serious, Rose. I don't want you inviting boys over here when I'm not home. I'll let you off the hook this time, but if it happens again, you're grounded."

Rose sighed, knowing that her mother was right, even if she didn't want to admit it. "Okay, Mom. I won't invite him over if you aren't here, and if he comes over and you're not around, we'll go somewhere else."

"Good. Now, where is he?"

Rose turned and walked to the closet, opening the door. "You can come out now."

Jack stepped out of the closet, almost tripping over Rose's shoe rack. Rose looked at him, then turned red, gesturing to him to look at his foot. He did, turning red as well as he unwrapped one of her bras from around his shoe.

Ruth looked at them, unable to hide her amusement. Jack looked at her, a little sheepishly.

"Sorry, Mrs. DeWitt-Bukater. I didn't mean to get Rose in trouble." He turned even redder, realizing what that sounded like. "I mean…uh…nothing happened. It was like Rose said…we just ate pizza and watched a movie. It wasn't even a romantic movie. It was a western."

"All right, Jack. I believe you. But I want both of you to remember that rule. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, Mom."

"Yes, Mrs. DeWitt-Bukater."

Ruth nodded. "Good. Now, I believe it's time for Jack to go home, since it's almost midnight. Wasn't your sister coming in from New York today?"

"Uh…yeah…she's at my cousins' house, with her husband and twin daughters. We picked her up at the airport earlier, and talked for a while. She was getting some rest, so we went out for a while." He looked at Rose. "I guess I'd better get going, before Uncle John and Aunt Margaret get upset—if they're not already."

"Yeah." Rose thought about kissing him, then thought better of it with her mother watching. "Good night, Jack. Drive safely."

"Yeah. I'll see you Monday. If you're online tomorrow, maybe we can chat."

"Yeah. Good night."

Rose watched as Jack hurried down the stairs, eager to be gone before he annoyed her mother more. Ruth looked at her seriously.

"Remember what I said, Rose."

She sighed. "I will, Mom."


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty-One**

_Thursday, September 20, 2001_

"That was great, Rose! I'm sure you'll be the new cheerleader." Dawn sat on a bench in the locker room, waiting while Rose changed back into her street clothes.

"Do you really think so? I thought I messed up a couple of times."

"Not that I noticed, and Mrs. Hulstrom was very impressed with your performance. I told you it would be a good idea for you to try out."

"Well, I hope I get chosen. That was kind of fun, actually."

"I told you so." Dawn stood up as Rose pulled on her shoes. "Let's get going. It's getting late."

"Sure. I just need to stop by my locker first and get my homework."

They walked through the nearly deserted halls to Rose's locker, avoiding the janitor picking up the day's trash and mopping the floor. When they reached the bank of lockers, Rose quickly spun her combination, then pulled out the books she would need for her homework.

Rose was about to close her locker when she noticed an expensive-looking envelope tucked between her English book and her math book. Frowning, she pulled it out.

There was no name on the envelope, but she opened it anyway, curious as to what it might be. It didn't look like a piece of trash that someone had chosen to discard by slipping it inside her locker door. Pulling out the note inside, she read it, her face paling.

_My love, _

_I have been watching you every day, waiting and hoping that you'll come back to me. I've seen you looking out your window at night, the light illuminating you like an angel. I've watched as you and your friends hang out, and I know you'll make a wonderful cheerleader. Don't forget me. We'll be back together again soon, I'm sure._

The note wasn't signed. With shaking hands, Rose turned to throw it in the trash, but Dawn had noticed her shocked, frightened reaction and stopped her.

"What's wrong, Rose?"

Shuddering, Rose turned to Dawn, shoving the note into her hands. "This is what's wrong."

Dawn read the note, raising an eyebrow. "Do you think Jack's been smoking kronic or something?"

"What? No, Dawn. No. That note isn't from him. I know his handwriting, and this isn't it. Besides, why would he say that he's waiting and hoping that I'll come back to him? We are together."

Dawn shrugged. "It's probably for another girl, then. Someone just put it in the wrong locker."

"But it talks about being a wonderful cheerleader. I tried out to be a cheerleader today."

"So did a lot of other girls," Dawn responded dryly. "It's probably just a coincidence, or some idiot playing a prank on you. Why else would someone put this in your locker?"

Rose took a deep breath, voicing the thought that had immediately sprung into her mind when she read the note. "What if it was Cal?"

Dawn shook her head. "Rose, how would Cal know which locker is yours? He's not associated with this school at all. I mean, he's thirty years old, and didn't go here even in high school, and he doesn't work here or sit on the school board or anything."

"He could have given the note to someone else to put in my locker."

"Wouldn't that have been a little obvious?"

"Maybe not. Somebody might have thought he was a parent. Some kids do have parents that young, you know."

Dawn sighed. "Rose, I really don't think you have anything to worry about. Most likely, the note was meant for some other girl, or someone is being stupid."

"Maybe," Rose agreed, but inside she wasn't convinced.

* * *

When she reached home, Rose immediately logged on to the Internet, hoping that Jack was online so they could talk. When she saw that he wasn't, she turned to checking her e-mail, going through messages from her friends and deleting Spam. When she got to the last message, though, her heart began pounding wildly in fear. There was the same message she had found in her locker, with one additional line added.

_I'm watching you, Rose._

Again, it was unsigned. She checked the e-mail address, wondering if it was one she knew, but it was a new one, sent from a free e-mail service. The name gave her no help, either—it was only a jumble of numbers and letters that made no sense.

An icon popped up at the bottom of her screen. Relieved, Rose recognized Jack's screen name.

JD_in_AB: What's up?

rose_bud2001: Lots.

JD_in_AB: How was your tryout?

rose_bud2001: Fine. I think I've got a good chance.

rose_bud2001: Jack, do you have a new e-mail address, by any chance?

JD_in_AB: No. Why?

rose_bud2001: I got this weird e-mail. I didn't think it was from you, but I wanted to make sure.

JD_in_AB: Probably just Spam.

rose_bud2001: No, I got a message just like it in my locker.

JD_in_AB: In your locker?

rose_bud2001: Yeah. Dawn thought it was for some other girl and put in the wrong locker, or a prank, but now that I got it in the e-mail, too, I don't know.

JD_in_AB: What does it say?

Rose sent him the text of the message.

rose_bud2001: The only difference between this message and the one in my locker is that this one says: _I'm watching you, Rose_.

JD_in_AB: That's scary.

rose_bud2001: Yeah, tell me about it.

JD_in_AB: Who would give you something like that?

rose_bud2001: Cal.

JD_in_AB: Doesn't he have a restraining order?

rose_bud2001: Yeah, but people don't always obey those.

JD_in_AB: True. Do you still have the note from your locker?

rose_bud2001: No, I threw it away.

JD_in_AB: Print out a copy of the e-mail and save it. If Cal or somebody is stalking you, you might need it for evidence.

rose_bud2001: Good point.

JD_in_AB: If it is Cal, be real careful. I've only met him once, but I don't trust him.

rose_bud2001: I don't trust him, either. I've never told you why I got a restraining order against him in the first place.

JD_in_AB: Why?

rose_bud2001: We were over here one day when Mom wasn't home, and he tried to rape me. Luckily, Mom came home before he could do anything. That's why she got so mad when I had you over here—she was afraid something bad would happen to me.

JD_in_AB: I'm not going to do that to you!

rose_bud2001: I know, and Mom knows, too, but she says things can happen even when you're not planning on it. You know what I mean.

JD_in_AB: Yeah. Rose, be real careful until you find out who's doing this. Stay with somebody as much as you can. I don't want you getting hurt.

rose_bud2001: Thanks.

JD_in_AB: If you need, you can come over here, even if I'm not home. Uncle John and Aunt Margaret like you, and so do the kids. Trudy's going to be here for a while, too, and she wants to get to know you.

rose_bud2001: Thanks, Jack. I might come over even if I'm not scared.

JD_in_AB: LOL

rose_bud2001: LOL

JD_in_AB: Aunt Margaret wants me to come to dinner now. I'll call you later, okay?

rose_bud2001: Okay.

JD_in_AB: Love you.

rose_bud2001: Love you, too.

Rose signed off and printed out the e-mail message, tucking the paper away in a safe hiding place. In spite of seeing Cal a few days earlier, she had begun to feel safe from him.

Now, she wasn't so sure.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

_Friday, Sept 21, 2001_

It was Friday morning and Rose had gotten a ride to school from Dawn. Jack, who hadn't forgotten their conversation the night before, was worried, so he told his friends the problem.

"So we think Cal is back," Jack told Tommy and Fabrizio. "He's breaking the restraining order, or he has found a way around it. I want you two to keep an eye out on Rose and the girls. He might be using someone to get into the school."

"No way, man!" Tommy exclaimed. "You think it might be one of us?"

"I'm not jumping to any conclusions. But we can't be too careful."

Fabrizio, whose locker was three doors down from Rose's, looked at Jack. "I will keep an eye out. My locker is right by Rose's."

"Thanks, Fabrizio." Rose stood beside Jack, putting an arm around his waist. "Tell me if you see anyone putting anything in there. Well, anyone other than one of us."

"Sure, Rose. Your old boyfriend won't be able to hurt you."

"If it is him. We can't be sure. After all, he's obeyed the restraining order before, so it might be someone else."

"Maybe," Jack told her. "I still think you should be careful, though."

"Perhaps you have a secret admirer," Helga suggested.

Rose gave her a wry look. "If it's a secret admirer, I'm sure I don't want to meet him. A secret stalker is more like it."

"Why don't we go by Mrs. Hulstrom's room and see if we can find out who the new cheerleader is?" Dawn suggested. "It's better than standing around scaring yourself."

Rose shrugged. "Okay." She had almost forgotten about the cheerleading tryouts in her worry over who had sent her the note and the e-mail.

"Come on." Dawn took off down the hall, the others following. She wanted to distract Rose from her worries. True, notes like the one Rose had gotten were scary, but she wasn't sure that it really meant anything. It might just be a prankster playing an obscene joke on her.

There was a brightly coloured piece of paper posted on Mrs. Hulstrom's classroom door. When she saw it, Rose pulled away from Jack and hurried up to the door, wanting to see what it said.

She shrieked when she saw the name on it, jumping up and down.

"What? What does it say?" Dawn asked, going to stand next to her.

"I did it! I'm the new cheerleader!" Rose threw her hands up in the air in a "V for Victory" sign and hugged Dawn, then rushed over to Jack. "I can't believe it!"

"I told you that you were good," Dawn said, a bit smugly. "Didn't I? Didn't I? And Mrs. Hulstrom agreed."

"How much convincing did that take?"

Dawn shrugged, a mischievous smile on her face. "Oh…only a little."

Another girl walked up then. Staring at the laughing, rejoicing group, she went and looked at the paper on the door, the turned around in a huff, stomping off. "Bitch!" she hissed at Rose.

Rose turned and stared after her. "What was that all about?"

"Well, isn't it obvious, Rose? That's Stacy Williams. She usually gets everything she wants. She wanted to be the new cheerleader, and you got it instead."

"And she likes Jack," Helga added.

"She does?" Jack looked mystified.

"Well, why do you think she always wants to look at your art, then?"

"I thought it was because I was a good artist."

Dawn laughed. "Honestly, guys can be so dense sometimes. Stacy likes you, and so she's even madder at Rose, because she has you."

"He is a good artist," Rose interjected, putting her arms around him and kissing his cheek.

"Yeah, I am," Jack added, giving Rose a kiss on the mouth.

Tommy made a disgusted sound. "Get a room, you two."

"Can't. How about some bleachers?"

"Oh, shut up." Tommy shook his head. "You're never going to let us live that down, are you?"

"Nope."

* * *

Rose waved good-bye to Dawn and hurried toward her house. Noticing that her mother wasn't home yet, she let herself in, then tossed her things in a chair and raced into the living room, practicing one of the new moves she had learned at cheerleading practice that afternoon. Fortunately, there wasn't a game until next Friday, so she didn't have to worry about performing her first day as a cheerleader.

Humming to herself, Rose pulled a can of Coke from the refrigerator and opened it, going to the answering machine to check the messages.

There were twelve new messages, nine of them from where the answering machine had picked up, but no one had said anything. Frowning at the number of empty messages, a couple of them with coughing or heavy breathing, she picked up the Caller ID and began going through the phone numbers of those who had called.

There were several out of area codes on the Caller ID. Shrugging, Rose set it down. Out of area calls were often from telemarketers, who didn't usually bother to leave a message, although why they had sat through the answering machine's pick-up, she didn't know. She was about to go upstairs when the phone rang again.

"Hello?"

No one responded.

"Hello?" Rose frowned, hanging up the phone, then checked the Caller ID. Another out of area call. Suddenly suspicious, she clicked back through the phone numbers, feeling a chill go down her spine when she realized that all of the out of area calls were from after 3:30, by which time she was usually home.

The phone rang again. Exasperated, Rose picked it up. "Hello?"

Once again, there was no answer.

"Listen, I don't know who you think you are, but you'd better stop calling here. You're not funny."

Slamming down the phone, she picked up her things and carried them upstairs, only to be interrupted by the phone once again.

Picking up the extension in her room, she snapped, "I thought I told you to stop calling!"

"Rose? Rose, what's wrong?"

"Jack!" Rose sat down on the edge of her bed, her heart pounding. "Sorry. I've been getting a bunch of hang-up calls."

"From who?"

"I don't know. The Caller ID says out of area. I thought it might be telemarketers, but the person has called twice since I got home about fifteen minutes ago, and didn't say anything either time."

"You think it might be Cal?"

"I hope not. I mean…hang-up calls are so juvenile."

"So is leaving a note in someone's locker, but you got one of those yesterday."

Rose sighed, twirling the phone cord around her finger. "I don't know, Jack…maybe it isn't Cal at all. Maybe he has nothing to do with this. Maybe it's just some kid being stupid."

"Like that girl who yelled at you this morning, Stacy, or whatever her name is."

"Maybe."

"Or that janitor who was fired for putting a camera into the girls' locker room."

"What?"

"I'm kidding, Rose. I'm just kidding. That was at my old school."

"Jack! Don't scare me like that! I have enough to worry about already."

"Sorry, Rose."

They were silent for a moment before Rose spoke. "Jack…what if it really is Cal?"

"Maybe you should tell your mom. Have you told her about that note and that e-mail?"

"No. Jack, I don't want to worry her. I mean…things were such a mess for such a long time after Dad died. I don't want to start any problems up again."

"But somebody is trying to cause trouble."

"I know, but…maybe it's nothing. Maybe…maybe it's some kind of cheerleader initiation or something."

"Uh-huh." Jack sounded sceptical.

"Well…Jack, it just can't be Cal. He has a restraining order, and he's stayed away from me all this time."

"How long has it been since he got the restraining order?"

"The judge put the restraining order on him last November. He was pretty mad about it."

"You did see him at the country club the other day. Maybe he thinks he doesn't have to follow it anymore, since you talked to him."

Rose's hand clenched around the phone. "I guess I shouldn't have talked to him, but he was being such a jerk…but if he thought he didn't have to stay away from me anymore, why would he sneak around making hang-up calls and sending me e-mails like that? Wouldn't he just come out and talk to me?"

"I don't know, Rose. I only met him that once. All I know is that he seems like a real jerk."

"He is. Jack…this may sound weird, but he scares me. There's not very much that makes me feel that way, but he does. There's just something about him…like when he gets something, it's his and no one else's, and if he has to share it, he'd rather destroy it than let anyone else have it. He would get so mad at me for talking to other guys—and that's all I did, was talk—that he would slap me and push me around. It was like I was an object to be kept—or thrown away, if he was tired of me."

"Rose, I think you should call the police, tell them that you think it's him. Maybe someone could get him to stop if it is him, or if it isn't, you wouldn't have to worry about him anymore. And you should tell your mom. It sounds like she's pretty protective of you."

"She is." Rose paused, twisting the cord around her hand. "Okay, Jack. I'll do that…but I don't know how much good it'll do, if it is Cal. He has a lot of money and power."

"But that didn't stop him from getting a restraining order in the first place."

"No…but still—"

"Remember, Rose, if anything happens, you can always come to me or my family. And Dawn would help you, too, and I'll bet that Tommy or Fabrizio or Helga would try to help you if you needed it."

"Yeah." Rose rubbed her forehead. "This is so bizarre, though, Jack. I'm not sure what to make of it."

"I don't know, either, Rose, but whatever happens, I'll be there."

"I know you will. Thank you, Jack."

"You're welcome, Rose."


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

_Monday, October 1, 2001_

"We are number one! We are number one!"

Rose shouted with the other cheerleaders, then turned a cartwheel, landing neatly on her feet. She held the pose a moment, then went and sat down in the bleachers, relieved that cheerleading practice was almost over. It had been a long day; in fact, just one in a series of long days.

She had taken Jack's advice and told her mother about the strange note, e-mail, and phone calls she had received, and had reported them to the police, along with her suspicions. The police had been reluctant to investigate—obnoxious notes, e-mails, and phone calls were common teenage pranks—but they had finally questioned Cal when Rose had told them that she had talked to him at the country club in violation of the restraining order.

Cal had been outraged that the police suspected him of stalking Rose, and had had a reasonable alibi for every incident—although Rose wasn't sure of when the note had been placed in her locker. It could have been anytime between the beginning of lunch and the end of cheerleading tryouts—several hours time. He had claimed to have been at work for most of that time, or at lunch with a client, and had claimed the same thing with the e-mail and phone calls.

Since then, Rose had run across him twice, once in A&W, where she had been picking up an after school snack before going to cheerleading practice, and the other time at the country club, where she had nearly run into him after playing tennis with Dawn. Cal had had excuses both times—he had been in A&W to get something to eat, and had been playing golf at the country club.

Both excuses were plausible enough, but Rose couldn't help but notice that he had arrived at both places after she had, as though he had been following her. She had received more notes and e-mails, too—all untraceable. The e-mails had all been sent from free addresses that had been disabled as soon as the e-mail as sent, each with a more disturbing message than the last, and all telling her that she was being watched.

At least there had been no more phone calls. Rose was relieved about that. The only calls that had come in since the first incident that had left no message on the answering machine or had no one on the other end when she picked up had been from easily traceable telemarketers from Ontario and Vancouver, using computers to phone.

Rose listened patiently while Mrs. Hulstrom lectured on how they had done and what they needed to work on, then got up and headed for the girls' locker room to change. Dawn caught up with her as she reached her locker.

"Hey, Rose."

"Hey. What's going on?"

"Nothing much. You're doing really good out there, especially for someone who just started as a cheerleader."

"I've already cheered at one game, you know."

"Yes, well…" Dawn changed to the subject that she really wanted to ask about. "How are you doing? Have you gotten anymore of those weird notes or e-mails?"

Rose looked away for a moment, stuffing her gym clothes into her locker and pulling on her jeans. Finally, she looked at Dawn and answered. "Yes. I found another one tucked into my history book this morning."

Dawn shook her head. "Oh, Rose…do you have any idea who's doing this?"

"Cal."

"But, Rose, you said that the police questioned him, and there was no way it could be him."

"It is him, Dawn. I can't prove it—but I know that it's him. He could have given the notes to someone else to put in my locker, and he could have sent the e-mails from work. It's easy enough to get a temporary e-mail address and then cancel it. Besides…" She hesitated. "Besides, I think he's been following me. Remember how he showed up at the country club yesterday?"

"Well, you both belong to the country club. It could have been coincidence…"

"I saw him in A&W last Thursday afternoon, too. Why would he have gone to A&W when he has his choice of food from his company's cafeteria, or from any restaurant around where he works? That A&W must be around five kilometres from where he works."

"Still, maybe he was just craving a Root Beer milkshake or something."

"I don't know." Rose shook her head, then looked suspiciously at her best friend. "Why are you so intent on defending him? Do you want him to hurt me?"

"No, Rose! Of course not! I'd rather it wasn't him, though. I mean…Rose, he's dangerous. I'd rather it was just one of our stupid classmates playing games. I mean, I've gotten prank calls and stupid notes on occasion, especially since I became a cheerleader at the beginning of last year. Some guys don't know how to approach a girl, so they do stupid things to try to get her attention. They should know better by this age," she mused, "but some don't, especially those little grade tenners."

Rose shook her head. "I wish that that was all it was, but I think it's more serious than that. Dumb boys usually give up if they're ignored—so if it is one of them, he might have more than teasing on his mind. But I think it is Cal…the last note talked about how foolish I am to get involved with a poor guy who got thrown out of the country club. Who else would have known about that?"

Dawn looked at Rose, her face troubled. "I don't know, Rose. I really don't know."

* * *

That evening, the whole gang met at Dawn's house to eat pizza and watch movies. Rose sat with Jack the entire time, trying not to think about the notes and e-mails she had been receiving. Jack asked her whether she had received any more notes that day, but she just shrugged, not wanting to talk about it.

At nine o'clock, Fabrizio turned on the radio, going through the stations until he found Power 92 FM, the one that had held the contest for the tickets to the Britney Spears concert. Helga sat back on the couch, a mischievous grin on her face as she watched him.

"They're about to announce who won the Britney Spears tickets," she told the others, when they looked at them questioningly.

Dawn and Tommy nodded, then grinned slyly at Jack and Rose, who just looked back at them oddly, wondering what was going on.

Fabrizio turned up the radio. "Quiet, everyone. They're announcing it now."

They quieted, listening to the announcer's voice. "…and the winners are Jack and Rose Dawson! Congratulations go out to the newlywed couple."

Everyone burst out laughing, except for Jack and Rose. As they stared at each other and at their friends in confusion, Tommy finally told them what was going on.

"It was a practical joke, you guys. We entered you into the contest as newlyweds. We didn't think you'd win. We were just gonna tell you about it later."

"What?" Jack and Rose just stared at them.

Finally, Jack leaned closer, looking each and every one of them in the eye. "What have you guys been smoking?"

Fabrizio and Tommy just laughed harder. "Nothing. Nothing at all."

Finally, Rose started to laugh, too. "You guys are strange."

"Yeah," Dawn agreed. "But you love us anyway."

"So, Jack." Rose turned to him, resting her head on his shoulder and giving him a puppy-dog look. "Are we going to Las Vegas?"

"Think we can talk my aunt and uncle into it? Or your mom?"

Rose sighed, giving him a look of mock sadness. "You know they'll say no. Let's just run off to Vegas."

"Now, that's taking peer pressure too far," Dawn told them, unable to suppress her laughter. "You'll be the first ones of us getting married."

"Hey, we never said we were getting married," Jack protested.

"We never said we weren't, either." Rose punched him in the arm.

"Ow!" Jack pretended to be hurt. "What was that for?"

By this time everyone was laughing hysterically. "I think we better call the radio station and tell them to give the tickets to somebody else." Fabrizio reached for the phone.

"No way!" Jack exclaimed, standing up. He picked up Rose and swung her around. "Rose and I are running away together!"

Rose squealed. "Jack, no! Put me down!"

She struggled, knocking him off balance and sending both of them tumbling onto the couch in a laughing heap. The others soon joined them, interrupted only by Dawn's father, Roger, who looked in at the couchful of giggling teenagers and just shook his head, muttering under his breath about the strangeness of the younger generation.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

_Tuesday, October 2, 2001_

"So, are you guys gonna go on the Vegas trip or not?" Tommy asked Jack and Rose at school the next morning.

"We're not sure yet," Jack admitted. "I'd like to go, but I'm not sure my aunt and uncle will allow it. They'll probably think we need a chaperone."

"Well, could they be chaperones?"

Jack shrugged. "I don't know. It would be pretty expensive. I mean, the contest just covers all the expenses for Rose and I. We'd need airfare, a hotel room, and all of that kind of stuff for a chaperone."

"Well, what about Rose's mom?" Helga asked. "She could afford to go."

Rose grimaced. "Mom isn't very fond of Britney Spears. I don't think she'd want to see her concert."

"She doesn't have to. There's plenty of other stuff to do in Las Vegas besides watch a Britney Spears concert. Besides, what kind of trouble could you guys get into at a concert? You've got…what…a few thousand chaperones?"

"Well, the concert isn't until November eighteenth," Rose reminded everyone, shaking her head. "We have plenty of time to think of something before then."

"Do you want to go?" Jack asked her. "I mean, really?"

"Well…of course," Rose answered him, a hint of uncertainty in her voice. "Don't you?"

"Yeah…but getting there might be a problem."

"Well…let's see what we can do before we give up on the idea."

* * *

Jack drove Rose home that afternoon after she was finished with cheerleading practice. When they saw that Ruth was already home, they steeled themselves to ask her about the concert.

"Mom?" Rose walked in the door, holding it for Jack and then closing it quietly behind them.

"I'm in the den, Rose."

They followed the sound of her voice, finding her sitting on an oversized chair, going through the mail.

"Mom?" Rose asked tentatively. "We have a favour to ask…a big one."

"Rose…"

"Can you hear us out before you say no?" she pleaded.

"I suppose. What is it?"

"Well…we were over at Dawn's house last night, and we were all listening to the radio…and it turns out that our friends entered us into this contest where the prize was a pair of tickets to a Britney Spears concert…you know, as a joke. But it turned out that we won…they announced that the winners were Jack and Rose Dawson, the newlyweds. It was a prank, but since we won…can we go?"

"Well, I don't see why not. When is it?"

"November eighteenth…in Las Vegas."

"Las Vegas!"

"Yeah. See, I know that you don't want me going off on my own with Jack, and his aunt and uncle probably won't allow it, either, but if you came with us…"

"You are aware, aren't you, that November eighteenth is a Sunday, and you will have to somehow get back here that same night and get to school in the morning?"

"It's a Sunday?" Jack and Rose looked at each other. They hadn't thought of that.

"Yes, it's a Sunday, and a school night. I'm sure we could get back that same night, but you wouldn't have much time to sleep, and you certainly aren't ditching school the next day—at least, Rose isn't."

"We could sleep on the plane coming back home," Rose suggested, "and then get the rest of the sleep we need before we go to school. I mean, we'll have a few hours."

"And you'll be keyed up after that concert. I doubt you'll be able to sleep on the plane."

"But, Mom…"

"I'll think about it, Rose. That's as much of a promise as I can give you."

Rose sighed. "Okay, Mom."

"And don't pester me about it. You know that won't help." She handed Rose a couple of envelopes and a Faze magazine. "Here's your mail." She looked at her daughter and sighed. "Don't look so mournful, Rose. I haven't made any decision yet."

Rose tried to smile. "I know, Mom. I know."


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

_Wednesday, October 3, 2001_

Rose stalked into school, frowning unhappily. After stopping by her locker, she headed for the student common room, where she knew her friends would be waiting.

"What's wrong with you?" Dawn asked, staring at Rose in surprise. Her best friend was usually much more cheerful than this.

"Nothing!" Rose snapped, sitting down next to Jack and pulling an envelope from her notebook. "Look at this."

"What about it?" Jack took the envelope cautiously, wondering what had Rose in such a bad mood.

"There's no return address."

"Okay. And?"

"Look at the letter!"

Looking at her strangely, he took the letter from the envelope and looked at, finally understanding why Rose was in such a bad mood.

_My darling Rose,_

_I watched you cheer at the game on Friday night. You were beautiful, of course, although that skimpy uniform shows off far more flesh than is appropriate. I dislike seeing you show off your legs that way—you should be revealing so much only for me. How lucky I am to know you! And soon, we'll be together again._

_As always, I am watching you, Rose._

The letter was unsigned, printed on an ordinary sheet of white printer paper. It could have come from anywhere.

"Did you show this to the police?" Jack asked Rose, putting the letter back into the envelope and turning it over the examine the postmark.

Rose nodded. "Yes, but they said that they were tired of hearing me make baseless accusations toward my ex-boyfriend. The person I showed it to had the nerve to suggest that I was sending these notes myself to get attention." She threw her hands up in the air in frustration. "Why would I be trying to get attention? I'm a rich, popular cheerleader, for God's sake! Don't I get enough attention already?"

"What does the postmark say?" Dawn asked, leaning over and looking at the envelope. "Maybe it will give you some clue where it came from."

Jack shook his head. "It says 'Canada'. Duh. We already knew that."

"At least we know it's from someone in the country."

Dawn looked at Tommy, who just made the comment, and frowned.

"You're weird!"

"Thank you."

Dawn stuck her tongue out and before they knew it, they were making out on the couch.

Rose let out a small sigh, leaning forward as she ignored the couple, wringing her hands. "It's Cal. I know it is. Why doesn't anyone believe me?"

"We believe you, Rose." Jack put a comforting arm around Rose's shoulders. "Like you've said, who else could it be? I mean, there's been things in the notes that only he would know."

"Yes, but what can we do about it? He won't stop, and…he's really starting to scare me. What does he want?"

"We'll keep an eye out for you, Rose," Dawn assured her, sitting up and looking at all the others while she straightened her hair. "Won't we?"

"Sure we will," Tommy responded, unaware that he had some pink lipstick smudged on his lower face, looking past Dawn at Rose. "Nobody wants to tangle with a football player like me."

Dawn punched him in the arm. "You are so full of yourself!"

"Yeah, and you love me for it."

Dawn gave him an exasperated look. "You have some lipstick on your face, lover boy," She turned back to Rose. "Seriously, Rose, we're looking out for you. Fabrizio's locker is near yours, so he'll tell you if he sees anyone putting anything in there."

Rose sighed. "Thanks. I just wish Cal would give up."

"I don't know what to say about that, Rose, except to be careful. He's dangerous."

"I know."

"Maybe you should try thinking about something else for a while," Helga suggested. "It might make you feel better."

"Like what?" Rose put her head down on the table, scowling. "Las Vegas? I asked my mom again this morning if she would accompany Jack and me there, but she said she was still thinking about it."

"So?" Jack asked. "She hasn't said no yet, has she? I asked my aunt and uncle about it last night, and they said that I could go if someone would go with us. I even asked Trudy and Kenneth if they could come with us, but they have to go back to New York soon, so that Kenneth can go back to work and Trudy can look for a new job."

Rose lifted her head, drumming her fingers on the table. "You don't know my mom, Jack. The longer she thinks about something, the more likely she is to say no. She'll probably say that I'll be too tired for school if I go."

"Oh, come on, Rose." Dawn patted her back comfortingly. "Your mom lets you do all kinds of stuff. Even if she won't go with you, or can't, maybe you can get someone else to go. Maybe your housekeeper or gardener would like to go on a trip. I'd go if I could, but I don't think your mom would think I was a very good chaperone."

Rose leaned her head against Jack's shoulder. "I hope she lets us go. It would be nice to not be in the same country as Cal for a couple of days."

* * *

Late that afternoon, Jack dropped Rose off at home after cheerleading practice. He had to hurry home and watch his little cousins, so he couldn't stay, but he did give her a quick kiss, promising to be on-line later.

Rose walked slowly towards the front door, checking the mailbox first to see if there was anything in it. The front door was unlocked, so she went inside, surprised that her mother was home so early two days in a row.

"Mom?" Rose called, poking her head into the main living room.

"Over here, Rose." Ruth was standing in front of the coffee table in the sitting room, opening a large box.

"What's going on? You're not usually home so early." Rose went to stand beside her mother.

"Things have been a little slow at work lately, and my new assistant is more than competent, so I've been able to come home a little early." She pried open the box flaps, digging through the packing material and shaking her head.

"What's wrong?" Rose frowned, hoping that it had nothing to do with Cal.

She sighed in relief as Ruth answered. "This is not what I ordered, and it's the second time this company has sent me the wrong merchandise. I think I'll get my money back and not patronize them anymore."

Rose looked in the box, wrinkling her nose at the garish pattern on the china dinnerware inside. It definitely was not her mother's taste.

Ruth closed the box again and pushed it aside. "Oh, Rose, I just remembered. About those tickets you won to that concert…"

"Yes?" Rose tried not to look too hopeful.

"I called the radio station and confirmed that you and Jack had won. It turns out that the cost of the hotel and airfare are included—Friday, November sixteenth, through Sunday November eighteenth. I know how much you kids want to go, so I've decided to accompany you for the weekend. That is, if Jack's aunt and uncle give their permission for him to go."

Rose's eyes lit up. "They did. They said that he could go as long as we have a chaperone. Thanks, Mom!"

"There is one thing, Rose."

"What's that?"

"You and Jack are not sharing a hotel room. I'll be paying for my own airfare and room—I've already made reservations—so Jack will have his own room, and you will share with me."

"That's fine, Mom." Rose hadn't wanted to admit it, but the though of sharing a hotel room with any guy, even Jack, made her nervous. "This is so cool!" Jumping up and down, she executed one of her cheerleading moves, almost crashing into an antique chair.

"Rose, I'm glad you're happy, but please take your cartwheels outside where you can't break anything."

Rose headed for the stairs. "I'm going to go call Jack. This is great! Thanks again, Mom."

Ruth laughed as Rose's feet thumped on the stairs, happy to see her daughter in a good mood again.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

_November 16, 2001_

"Mom!" Rose's feet thumped on the stairs. "Mom, are you packed yet? The tickets say the plane leaves at seven o'clock, so we'll need to leave pretty soon." She hurried into the living room, stopping when she saw her mother on the phone. "Mom?"

Ruth held up a hand, signalling for Rose to be quiet. "Yes. Yes, I'll be there. You chose a really inconvenient time to schedule this, you know. Yes, I know that it's the best time for you, but I don't see why I need to be there. I already made it clear that I had other plans." She sighed. "All right. If it's really that important…I'll be there. Yes. Good-bye."

Rose stood listening to her mother's end of the conversation, a worried frown growing on her face. What was her mother talking about? What was inconvenient? Would this affect her trip to Las Vegas?

"Mom? What's going on?"

Ruth turned to Rose, an exasperated look on her face. "That was my boss. He's scheduled a meeting for this evening at eight."

Rose stared at her. "But you can't go to that. You already promised Jack and me that you'd go to Las Vegas with us."

"I'm sorry, Rose, but this isn't something I can get out of."

"But, Mom, you promised!" Rose's voice grew louder as she realized that her trip was going to be called off. "It's not fair! Didn't he know you had plans?"

"I don't think that my boss cares one way or another about my plans. Money is everything to him."

Rose mumbled a short, foul word under her breath.

"Don't swear, Rose. You know I don't like that."

"But, Mom…it's not fair. I've been looking forward to this so much. So has Jack." Tears of disappointment filled her eyes.

Ruth stood, going to lay a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Before you throw a tantrum, Rose, I want you to hear me out."

Rose sniffed, wiping her eyes and fixing her mother with a glare. "Mom…"

"Rose, you and Jack are still going on your trip."

Rose's expression changed, her eyes widening in disbelief. "But you wanted us to be chaperoned."

"And you will be. Dawn's mother called me at work this morning to find out what flight we'll be taking and what hotel we'll be staying at. It seems that Dawn mentioned that a trip to Las Vegas and a ticket to the Britney Spears concert would be a perfect birthday gift…"

"Dawn's birthday isn't until January."

"That's what her parents told her, but she managed to talk them into the trip as an early birthday present. All three of the Bergens—Dawn and her parents—will be going to Las Vegas tonight with you. There were still seats available in first class, so they were able to arrange to fly on such short notice. You and Jack will be in coach, but I don't think you can get into much trouble on an airplane."

"Dawn's going, too?" Rose gaped at her mother.

"Yes, and her parents will chaperone you, I'm sure. After all, they've never objected to your staying the night at Dawn's house, and the two of you have never gotten into trouble there."

"Well…mostly." Rose smiled, remembering a couple of incidents when she and Dawn had gotten into trouble while staying the night at each other's houses—the time that they had played Truth or Dare, and Rose had dared Dawn to go out in the snow barefoot, nearly resulting in frostbite for her best friend, or the time that the girls had decided to paint themselves like native dancers, and had used up a good portion of Mrs. Bergen's makeup to do so. Granted, they had been eight years old at the time, but they had still managed to misbehave.

Rose didn't remind her mother of those incidents, though. She just grinned and threw her arms around Ruth's neck. "Thanks, Mom!"

"I'll meet you tomorrow night at the hotel—I should be able to get a plane ticket. If you're not there when I get there, I'll just wait for you. I don't expect you to stay inside and miss the fun because I'm going to be late."

"That'll work great, Mom!" Rose headed for the stairs again, her earlier disappointment forgotten.

"Rose!"

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to book my new flight and let the hotel know that I'll be a day late getting there. Then, you'll need to call Dawn and let her know that you'll be accompanying her family. I'll expect you to either stay with Dawn or stay in our room by yourself—not with Jack. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Mom. I understand. You don't need to worry about me. I'll be good."

With that, she dashed up the stairs to finish packing.

* * *

Ruth dropped Jack and Rose off at the airport before going to her meeting. As she pulled up to the curb to let them out, she turned and looked at them, making sure they had everything.

"You have your tickets and itinerary, right? And your hotel information? Do two have your passports?"

"Yeah, Mom, we do." Rose sounded a little exasperated.

"I'm just making sure, Rose. I don't want you wandering the streets of Las Vegas with nowhere to stay."

"Everything's fine, Mom." Rose pulled a handful of papers and passport from her purse, showing them to Ruth. "Jack has his, too."

Jack nodded, showing Ruth an identical pile of papers and an American passport. Ruth looked at both of them approvingly, then added, "And you packed everything you need, right? Rose, you remembered to pack clean underwear, didn't you?"

"Mom!" Rose's face turned bright red. "Don't talk about that!"

"Sorry, Rose, but the last trip we went on, you forgot…"

"Mom!" Rose hissed, putting her hands over her face. "I remembered this time."

"Okay, Rose. So you've got everything you need?"

"Yes!" Rose jumped out of the car before her mother could embarrass her further, hurrying to the trunk to get her suitcase.

Jack followed her, grinning at her still-red face. "Your face is the colour of your name," he remarked, pulling his own worn suitcase from the trunk.

"Don't laugh at me!" Rose gritted her teeth and glared at him. "I cannot believe her!"

She stepped up onto the curb, waving as Ruth pulled away, her face still flaming with embarrassment.

"My mom did that to me once," Jack remarked, walking beside her as they went into the airport. "I was getting ready to go on a boy scout camping trip when I was in seventh grade, and she asked me that in front of all the other guys. I wanted to disappear."

"I swear, I will never do that my kids, if I ever have any." Rose shook her head, pulling her wool hat down over her face to hide it.

"Rose! Jack!"

They looked up as someone called from the WestJet ticket line, waving wildly at them. "Come on! You can get in line with us!"

Jack and Rose followed hurried over, squeezing past some people who looked at them in irritation. When they reached Dawn, they stopped, staring in amazement, as Tommy, Helga, and Fabrizio turned to greet them as well.

"What are you guys doing here?" Jack could imagine Tommy being able to afford to go with them, but not Helga and Fabrizio.

Dawn shrugged, grinning. "Mom and Dad thought that it would be nice for all of us to go on the trip. We just rented one extra hotel room, for Mom and Dad, and then you and Helga and I will stay in your room, and the guys will stay with Jack. We're all going to the Britney Spears concert, too, even though we couldn't get tickets next to you guys. It'll still be fun."

The six teenagers began to talk loudly, discussing the coming trip. It was going to be a great weekend!


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

_November 16, 2001_  
_Las Vegas, Nevada_

Jack and Rose looked out the window with interest as the plane circled around before heading for the runway. It was a clear night, so they had been able to see the cities and towns on the ground below as they had passed over them. With growing excitement, they had watched the lights of Las Vegas come into view, first heralded by a long line of traffic on the highway leading toward the city.

The trip had taken less time than expected, the plane pushed along by a strong tailwind. This same tailwind had resulted in some turbulence, causing Rose to be airsick, but she felt fine as they landed, leaning against Jack as she looked past him out the window, marvelling at actually being in Las Vegas.

Jack had been to Las Vegas before, but only as a small child while his parents drove through on the way to and from other vacation spots, and it had never interested him then as it did now, with a weekend with his friends and girlfriend to look forward to, as well as a concert at the end of the trip.

A passing flight attendant gingerly took the barf bag from Rose—naturally, she hadn't gotten sick until after she'd consumed a good portion of pop and pretzels—and moved on, allowing Jack, Rose, and the man who had been sharing their row of seats to stand up and move into the aisle.

Rose retrieved her carry-on bag and started towards the front of the plane, grabbing Jack's arm and dragging him along when he seemed to move too slowly for her liking. This was her first trip to Las Vegas, and she wanted to enjoy every minute of it.

They met the others in the baggage claim area, first class having been let off the plane before coach. Everyone looked to be enjoying themselves except Tommy, who looked a little pale.

"What's wrong with him?" Rose whispered to Dawn, finding her suitcase and picking it up.

Dawn smirked. "He got airsick. The big, strong football captain can't handle turbulence."

"Neither can Rose," Jack interjected, coming to Tommy's defence. "And she got airsick after she'd eaten."

"Jack! Don't tell them that!" Rose protested, glaring at him.

Jack just laughed, as did the others. "It's good to know that first class isn't that much nicer than coach." He got his suitcase as it came around the carousel.

Dawn's parents were listening to the whole exchange and trying not to laugh. "We're going to go to the hotel first," Mrs. Bergen told them. "We'll leave our luggage there. Now, what do you want to do after that?"

"Can we go to a casino?" Dawn asked. "Maybe play some slot machines?"

"No," her parents responded.

"It's illegal," Jack added.

"You don't think I could pass for eighteen? Wait…what is the legal gambling age here?"

"Twenty-one. No," he added. "I don't think you could. Anyway, they'd probably want ID."

"Damn." Dawn looked disappointed. "What else can we do around here?"

"How about a late dinner?" Tommy suggested, his earlier motion sickness forgotten.

Fabrizio stared at him. "You want to eat now? After that plane ride?"

"Well, I feel fine now," Tommy said defensively. "Anyway, I'm hungry."

Dawn reached up and patted him on the head. "You're cute. Just don't complain to me if you get sick again."

"Well, I'm hungry, too," Rose added, deciding the issue. "Let's go to the hotel and then decide where to go."

* * *

After going through customs, they walked out to the pick-up zone, Jack and Rose staring in surprise as a long, black limousine pulled in and stopped, the chauffeur getting out and reaching for their luggage.

"Was this part of the prize, too?" Jack asked, staring at the luxurious vehicle.

Mr. Bergen shook his head. "No. I called and rented it. It seemed like the best way to transport all of us and keep us together."

"Wow." The six teenagers piled into the limousine, settling back in the seats. None of them rode in a limousine on a regular basis, not even Dawn, Rose, or Tommy, all of whom came from wealthy families. The adults climbed in after them, more sedately than the excited kids.

After they had dropped their belongings off in their hotel rooms, they asked the limousine driver for his recommendation of a restaurant, finally settling on a small, casual one not affiliated with a casino. Dawn craned her neck at every casino they passed, longing to try the slot machines just once, but her parents were adamantly opposed to the idea.

All through dinner, the six teenagers argued over what to do the next day, finally settling on a trip to the mall in the afternoon and an amusement park in the evening. Rose and Dawn were determined to find the perfect outfits to wear to the concert, and encouraged Helga to do the same, despite her protests that she didn't have much money.

The guys weren't terribly interested in new clothes, but exploring an American mall with different stores than the ones they were used to was a novelty for all of them except Jack, who had grown up in California and had had his pick of malls to go to when he wanted. Still, even he had to admit that it would be more fun to hang out at the mall with his friends, rather than being dragged around by his parents or sister.

That decided, they returned to the hotel, and were in and out of each other's rooms for the next two hours, in spite of the elder Bergens attempts to keep an eye on them. The excitement of a weekend in a foreign country with little supervision proved to be more temptation than they could resist, and it was only after the adults abandoned their own room and moved into the teenagers' rooms to chaperone them did they finally settle down.


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter Twenty-Eight**

_November 17, 2001_  
_Las Vegas, Nevada_

It was mid-morning before any of the overtired teenagers began to awaken. Helga awoke first, sitting up and stretching, then grinning at the sight of Mrs. Bergen sound asleep beside her daughter, holding a handful of Dawn's hair in a stranglehold.

Quietly, she tiptoed over to Dawn and shook her gently, waking her up. Dawn looked at her blearily for a moment, then sat up, laying down again abruptly as her mother's grip yanked hard on her hair.

"Ow! Mom!"

Mrs. Bergen opened her eyes, looking in confusion at her daughter. "What?"

"You were pulling my hair!"

"No, I wasn't…" She looked at her now loose hand, which contained a few strands of Dawn's long, blonde hair. "Oh. Sorry, honey."

Rose rolled over, startled awake by the commotion. "What's going on?"

"My mother is trying to pluck me bald," Dawn complained, rubbing her head.

"I have to keep you in line somehow," Mrs. Bergen joked, letting go of the strands of hair. Helga just laughed.

"I don't wanna know," Rose mumbled, turning back over and pulling the pillow over her head.

Dawn got up, pulling the pillow off of Rose. "Come on, Rose. Get up. What's the point of being in Las Vegas if we spend the whole trip sleeping?"

"Uh…" Rose tried to pull the covers over her head, but Dawn pulled those away, too. Helga turned on the light.

Rose sat up, blinking and trying to shield her eyes. "Why are you guys torturing me?"

"We want to go to the mall," Dawn replied matter-of-factly, grabbing Rose's arm and trying to pull her off the bed. "Come on! Let's get ready."

"Anyway, I'm hungry," Helga added.

"Get room service."

"No way. I want to go out for breakfast. I want to see how Tommy survived sharing a room with Jack, Fabri, and my dad." Dawn grinned.

"You're mean."

"No, I'm Dawn. Come on, Rose. Let's get going."

* * *

Forty-five minutes later, the whole group set out for breakfast. In spite of the fact that they had to walk, they soon found a restaurant that everyone could agree on.

Mr. and Mrs. Bergen were grateful to let the six teenagers squeeze into a booth of their own, leaving the parents to their own devices.

The six young people squeezed together in the booth, not bothering to use the chairs available for extra people. Jack and Rose sat together, perusing a single menu and ignoring everyone else.

"Look at the lovebirds," Fabrizio joked, watching them from the other end of the booth. He was sitting next to Helga, but not so close to her that they seemed to be joined at the hip.

"Great menu, huh?" Dawn remarked, smirking at them. Rose was practically in Jack's lap.

"Everything here looks good," Tommy added, so concerned with filling his stomach that he had missed the conversation.

Everyone laughed. He looked up, puzzled.

"What?"

"Nothing," Dawn assured him, patting him on the arm. "Absolutely nothing."

"No, really. What's so funny?" He gave her a frustrated look.

At that moment, Mrs. Bergen came over to their table.

"Jack, Rose," she began. "You do realize that we're in public, right?"

Jack gave a strange look. "Yeah. Why?"

"I think you two should sit in separate chairs instead of in each other's laps."

"We have enough space," Rose protested, turning red.

"Uh-uh. Separate chairs. Then everyone will have enough space." She looked pointedly at Dawn and Tommy. "Including you two."

Grumbling, they rearranged themselves, earning an odd look from the waitress as she came to take their orders.

After they had eaten, they all hurried outside, the guys jostling and betting on who had eaten the most. When the entire group was finally outside, the teenagers looked up and down the street expectantly.

"Where's the limousine?" Dawn wanted to know, turning to her parents hopefully.

"We only rented it for last night and the night of the concert," her dad told her.

"Well, then, how are we supposed to get around? We want to go to the mall."

Mr. Bergen pointed up the street. "There's a bus stop. You find the bus that you need and ride it where you need to go."

"The bus?" Dawn wrinkled her nose.

"Yes, the bus. Just like you used to take to school."

"But, Dad…"

"But nothing. It's about time you learned to take the bus."

"But this is a foreign country!"

"I know how the bus system works," Jack said, earning a glare from Dawn. "We call the bus line and get the schedule. In a city like this, it shouldn't be too hard."

"I'd still rather take the limousine," Dawn grumbled, giving her parents a sullen look.

Mrs. Bergen ignored her sulking. "Go on, everyone. Have a good time."

She and her husband turned to walk back down the street, searching for something more interesting than roaming around a mall with the kids.

"Come on." Jack headed up the street, toward the bus stop, Dawn trailing after the rest of the group and still sulking.

By the time they arrived at the mall, Dawn's sullen mood had given way. As the bus moved through the streets, she stared out the window, looking hopefully for a casino that was open at noon. Despite the teasing of the others, she still hoped to play a few slot machines.

When the bus pulled up at The Boulevard Mall, all six of them piled out, trying to decide where to go first.

"The food court," Tommy said, looking at the layout of the mall and trying to figure out where it was.

"We just ate," Helga told him. "I want to look at some clothing stores."

"Yeah. Me, too," Rose agreed. "We need to get some stuff to wear to the concert."

"Don't worry, Helga," Dawn added, seeing her open her mouth to protest. "If you find something you like, we'll get it for you. Just consider it a Christmas present."

"I don't know…"

"If Dawn can get a birthday present in November, when her birthday is in January, then you can get a Christmas present, too," Fabrizio told her. He didn't look any too enthused at the idea of hanging around with the girls while they shopped for clothes, though.

"Why don't we split up?" Jack suggested. "American malls aren't really that different from Canadian malls, so we shouldn't get lost. Let's meet in the food court in a couple of hours."

"Sure," Tommy agreed, relieved that he wouldn't have to follow his girlfriend while she shopped for clothes. He enjoyed being around her, he really did, but shopping for clothes ranked just above going to the dentist on his list of least-favourite activities.

"Fine," Rose told him. "We'll see you in the food court around two."

* * *

The gang finally got together again at 2:15. All three of the girls had had their nails done, and each sported a shopping bag containing a new outfit for the concert. The guys had spent most of their time in the arcade, playing video games, although a display of art books in the B. Dalton Booksellers had caught Jack's attention, and they had hung around the comic shop until the owner had suggested strongly that they leave.

Once they'd found a couple of tables to sit at, they joined the lines at the different fast food sellers, looking for enough food to replace all the energy they'd worked off in the mall.

Tommy was at the counter of the McDonald's when a girl who'd been flipping burgers called to her boss.

"I'm taking my break now!"

He craned to look at her. With her back turned, he couldn't tell if he knew her or not, but her voice sounded familiar. As she turned to leave, he leaned forward, recognizing her now.

"Hey, Paola! What are you doing here?"

She turned, surprised, to see her third cousin Tommy leaning across the counter and waving at her.


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter Twenty-Nine**

_November 17, 2001_  
_Las Vegas, Nevada_

The manager glared at Tommy, not happy to see that he was leaning halfway across the counter—the counter that they had to serve food on.

"Is he a friend of yours?" he asked Paola, indicating Tommy disdainfully.

"Uh…he's my third cousin," she replied weakly, narrowing her eyes at Tommy. "Get off the counter!" she hissed. "I'll be out in a minute."

When she got out into the public area, she found Tommy waiting casually in line at Sbarro's, having decided that McDonald's might not be the place to eat right then. Tapping him on the shoulder, she joined him in line, earning glares from the people she had cut in front of.

"What are you doing in Las Vegas?" she asked. "Do Uncle Thomas and Aunt Beatrice know you're here?"

"Yeah, they know. I'm here with my friends for the Britney Spears concert. Are you going to see it?"

Paola shook her head. "No. It costs too much, and anyway they're probably sold out by now."

"Yeah, probably. What are you doing here?"

She rolled her eyes. "My family moved down here two years ago, dummy. Remember? You were at my going away party…"

"I know you live here. I mean, what are you doing here in this mall?"

"I work here on the weekends. I got this job back in August."

"Do you like it?"

"I hate burgers and I want more money." She stopped, looking at him. "How did you get here? I thought that Aunt Beatrice said that you needed to learn to be responsible with money, so where did you get the money for this trip?"

"I am responsible with money. I spend most of it on food and my girlfriend. Anyway, my girlfriend's parents paid for everything. It's an early birthday present for her, getting to go to the concert with all her friends."

"Nice. Where is she?"

Tommy turned and looked around, finally spotting the others crowded around a table halfway across the food court. They waved, encouraging him to join them. Dawn eyed Paola suspiciously.

"Which one's your girlfriend?"

"The gorgeous blonde."

"Which blonde? I see two."

"The one with the straight hair. That's Dawn. The other one is Helga, a friend of Dawn and me. The red-headed girl is Rose, and the guys are Jack and Fabrizio."

They had reached the front of the line and quickly ordered their food—a slice of pizza and a drink for Paola, and four slices of pizza for Tommy.

"I can see where all your money goes," Paola remarked, staring at the heavily loaded tray.

Tommy shrugged. "Hey, I'm hungry. It takes a lot of energy to keep me going."

She just rolled her eyes. "Am I invited to sit with you, or are you going to pretend you don't know me?"

"You can sit with us."

They made their way over to the table, grabbing chairs and shoving their way in. The others grumbled at having to move, but soon went back to eating, except for Dawn, who was glaring daggers at Paola.

"Who's this, Tommy?" she asked sweetly, looking around her boyfriend at the other girl.

Tommy suddenly realized what it looked like to Dawn. "Uh…Dawn, this is my cousin, Paola."

"Your cousin?" Dawn's voice was sceptical.

"Yes," Paola told her. "He's my older cousin by two whole days. My dad is his mom's cousin."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure that my dad is his mom's cousin."

Rose set her cup down, watching the whole scene with a glint in her eye. "Oh…it looks like someone's jealous," she teased Dawn.

"I am not," Dawn replied crossly. "I knew she was his cousin. The resemblance is unmistakable."

"Uh-huh." Rose was about to say something else, but thought better of it when Dawn threatened to squirt a packet of ketchup at her.

"Paola," Tommy said, "this is Dawn, Rose, Jack, Fabrizio, and Helga. Jack lived in the US, too."

Paola nodded. "Where are you from?"

"Santa Monica, California, but now I live in Edmonton."

Paola nodded, suddenly thinking of something. "Hey, Tommy?"

"Yeah?"

"How come you didn't tell me you were going to be in Vegas this weekend?"

"Well…it was kind of a spur of the moment thing, and anyway, I didn't think about it."

"He uses all his brains for playing football," Jack joked. "He doesn't have any left for anything else."

"Hey!" Tommy glared at Jack.

"Of course he has brains for other things," Dawn corrected Jack.

"Thank you. At least somebody can acknowledge that."

"Yes. You think about food, too."

"And about making out under the bleachers," Fabrizio commented. "Don't forget that."

Both Tommy and Dawn turned bright red at the comment. The others laughed, pounding on the table with glee.

"Tell," Paola demanded. "Come on. I want to hear it."

"Well…uh…we cut class and wanted some private time together, and the bleachers are the best spot. Unfortunately, the security guards know that, too, and they caught us and hauled us down to the discipline office. Of course, somebody told, and pretty soon everyone knew."

"Not everyone," Dawn told him. "I think a couple of people didn't hear about it. Besides, we weren't doing anything except kissing. There wasn't anything…else…going on."

Rose giggled, looking at Dawn's red face.

"Shut up!" Dawn demanded, glaring at her.

"I didn't say anything."

"Like you can talk. You and Jack were all over each other last night, at least until my mom made you leave the guys' hotel room."

Now it was Rose's turn to turn red. She stuck her tongue out at Dawn, then turned to Jack, who was laughing.

"Shut up!" she demanded, punching him in the arm.

"Ow!" Jack gave her a look of mock pain, clutching his arm exaggeratedly.

"You big baby. You're not hurt." She grabbed his arm. "Look. Not a bruise in sight."

"Ahem." Tommy decided to change the subject. "So, Paola, what are you doing these days? Besides working at McDonald's, I mean."

"Oh, the usual. School, work, things like that."

"Are you still writing those fanfic stories?"

She grimaced. "I wish. I don't have time. One of my friends wanted me to write a chapter of a story, and I didn't have time."

"That's too bad. Mom says you're a good writer."

"Yeah, well, I don't have much time. You know how that goes." She looked at her watch. "Speaking of time, I have to get back to work. My break is over."

"It was nice seeing you." She started to leave, then turned back. "Why don't you stop and visit before you go home? Tomorrow morning, maybe? Don't make us wait until we go to Canada again to see you. Mom and Dad will be mad if you don't stop by."

"I'll try."

"You'd better!" Paola turned and headed back to work, waving once before disappearing through the employees' door.


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter Thirty**

_November 17, 2001  
Las Vegas, Nevada_

Rose shrieked, half in delight, half in terror, as the roller coaster zoomed around a loop, momentarily suspending them upside-down. She grabbed Jack's hand, squeezing it so tightly that he tried to pull away, and shrieked again, giggling, as the roller coaster made one final loop before returning to the beginning of the track.

They were both laughing when they got off the roller coaster, even though Jack was rubbing his sore hand and casting occasional baleful looks at Rose. When they reached their friends, he commented, "You sure can scream."

"Oh, like you weren't yelling yourself," Rose scoffed, taking her drink from Dawn and taking a sip. Jack eyed her warily, worried that she would get motion sickness again.

"At least I don't scream like a girl," he replied, a bit defensively.

"She is a girl, dummy," Dawn informed him. "Do you want her to scream like a guy?"

"Let's not argue," Helga interjected. She and Fabrizio had been on the roller coaster, too, a few seats back from Jack and Rose. Fabrizio was staggering exaggeratedly, looking more drunk than dizzy. "What should we do next?"

"The merry-go-round," Dawn decided. "I saw one of those back there a ways, and I've always liked them."

Tommy groaned. "That's kids' stuff."

"Well, you wouldn't go on the roller coaster, either. You can just hold our stuff while we're there."

"I don't want to go on the merry-go-round, either," Fabrizio remarked.

"Me, neither," Jack added.

"You guys are such spoilsports," Dawn told them. "But I guess that means less of a wait for the rest of us. You can hold our stuff, and we'll go have fun."

When they got to the front of the line for the merry-go-round, the girls handed their drinks to the guys, then got on the ride, each choosing a fancily decorated horse. Jack stared at Rose as she got on, waving as the ride started and waving again each time she came around.

"Why don't you take a picture?" Tommy teased. "It lasts longer."

"He doesn't have a camera," Fabrizio pointed out. "He'll have to draw her."

"Yeah, I will," Jack replied, waving to Rose as the merry-go-round came around once again. She looked beautiful there, her cheeks pink from laughter and her eyes sparkling. Her long, curly red hair hung down her back, bouncing a little each time the horse moved down.

When the ride was over, the girls took their drinks back from the guys, all of them laughing merrily. "Now what?" Rose asked.

"Something we can all do," Dawn said, before anyone could object. "How about the Ferris wheel? And don't even try to object," she told Tommy.

"I wasn't going to," he informed her. "It gives us some time alone together, away from everybody else."

"Nice to be with you, too," Rose told him, scowling a little.

"Oh, come on. You know I didn't mean it that way. Besides, you get some time alone with Jack."

"That's true," Jack pointed out. "What do you say, Rosie?"

"Oh, I suppose I could put up with you," she teased him.

"Well, then, what are we waiting for?" Helga asked. "Come on. You can sit with me, Fabrizio."

"Thanks."

* * *

Jack and Rose sat together as the Ferris wheel came to a stop, suspending them almost at the top. Rose sighed contentedly, leaning back as Jack put an arm around her.

"It's so nice up here," she commented, leaning her head against his shoulder. "Even if it is a little cold."

Jack grinned, putting both arms around her. "Better?"

Rose grinned back, giving him a quick kiss. "Yeah."

They sat together for several minutes as the Ferris wheel gradually came closer to the ground, content just to be together. As the ride circled around and began to take them back up, Jack looked out at the lights of the city.

"Look at all that," he commented, taking in the brightly lit sight of the city's attractions. "I wish I could draw that, but I don't think I could do it justice."

"You could try," Rose suggested.

"Yeah, but…I think I'll try something else."

"How about me?" Rose suggested. "You've never drawn me."

"Actually, I have, but I just never showed you the drawings."

Rose looked at him. "Why not?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't know if you'd want to see them."

"You didn't draw any nude pictures, did you?"

"Uh…no. I don't like to guess." He blushed.

"Don't you have any imagination?" Rose teased him.

"I have plenty of imagination. But…uh…I'd rather get it right."

Rose giggled, a little embarrassed. She was about to reply when she looked down and saw several familiar faces looking up at them.

"Hey, isn't that the Bergens down there?"

"And your mom?"

"I wonder how they found us."

When they got off the ride, they found another person waiting for them—Paola. Dawn gave her a puzzled look.

"How did you know we would be here?"

"Tommy mentioned where you were staying, so I decided to stop by and Ms. DeWitt-Bukater answered the door. She said was going to check on you guys, with the Bergens, and invited me to come along."

Fabrizio and Helga stepped out of the shadows and the crowd at that moment. "Where were you guys?" Jack asked.

Tommy, Dawn, and Paola grinned, having seen what they were doing. "They were getting to know each other a little better on the Ferris wheel," Dawn told him.

"A lot better," Tommy added. "I think they know each other's lips pretty well by now."

"What? How did you guys know…" Fabrizio wanted to know, staring at the three smirking faces.

"Dawn and I were right above you two," Tommy pointed out.

"And I saw you from the ground—and saw you sneak off when you got off the ride," Paola added, laughing with her cousin and his girlfriend.

Helga turned red. Flustered, she sputtered, "Well…well, I'm sure we weren't doing anything the rest of you weren't doing."

"Nope," Paola told her. "They were all lip-locking, too."

The adults tried to look stern, but didn't quite succeed. Finally, Ruth spoke, trying not to laugh.

"We'll leave all of you to your own devices—as long as you stay out of trouble. Is that clear, Rose?"

Rose gave her a sheepish look, realizing that her mother had seen her making out with Jack on the Ferris wheel. "Yes, Mother."

"Now I know she isn't listening," Ruth remarked to the Bergens. "She never says 'yes, Mother' when she's paying attention. Stay out of trouble, Rose. I mean it, or you'll be sharing a room with me instead of with your friends."

Rose sighed. "Okay, Mom."

The teenagers looked at the adults, eager to get back to their own fun. Ruth waved them off.

"Go ahead. We've got our own plans. We'll see you back at the hotel later."

"Sure." Rose looked at Paola. "You wanna hang out with us?"

Paola shrugged. "Sure."

Waving to Ruth, she followed the others, the whole group soon disappearing into the crowd, leaving the adults to find their own entertainment.


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter Thirty-One**

_November 18, 2001  
Early Morning_

After the parents left, the kids went on some more rides and played some games. But after only a few hours, the kids got hungry. Once they met back up with the adults, Mr. Bergen took them all to a restaurant called White Castle. It was getting late and Paola said she had to go. They said good-bye to Paola once they dropped her off at home and promised that they would keep in touch. Back at the hotel, Ruth allowed them to order a pay-per-view movie. Unfortunately, everybody was so tired that when Mrs. Bergen came in to say good night, she found six teenagers snoring in front of a blank TV screen.

Rose woke up with at start and looked at the clock. It was only 6:49 AM. She realized that she couldn't fall back asleep, so she got up and made herself a cup of coffee. Sipping at her warm drink, she curled up with the stuffed bear Jack had won for her at the midway and stared out at the sun rising over the city in one of the chairs. The door creaked behind her. Lost in thought, the noise surprised her so that she jolted upward, spilling some coffee on her top from yesterday.

"Sorry!" whispered a voice from behind her. "I didn't know anybody was up. Did I wake you?"

"No, I was already awake. Problems sleeping," Rose replied, grabbing a serviette from the table and trying to get the drink out before it stained.

"Here, let me help you." Jack put down his portfolio on one of the beds and wetted a paper towel in the bathroom. "Here."

He wrung it out and handed it to her.

"Thanks." She took it from him and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Um…do you mind turning around so I can change out of this?"

"Oh." He blushed, realizing when he looked down that she had a blouse flung over one of her arms. "Sure...yeah...okay."

Jack picked his folder up off the bed and headed towards the open curtains.

"So what are you doing here, anyway?"

"Trying to catch the sunrise and put it on paper." He smiled, stepping out onto the tiny balcony. "Your room here has a good view of the city!" he shouted back to her.

"Shh…you'll wake the others!"

"Too late."

They both looked back and saw a frowning Dawn, with messed up hair and clothing from the previous day all wrinkled, clinging to her body from sweat.

"Ugh…I don't feel so good."

"What's wrong?" Rose asked, looking at Dawn in concern.

"I don't know…I have an upset stomach. I think it was that awful turkey sandwich I ate at White Castle last night."

"Maybe you should go lie down," Jack suggested.

Dawn shook her head slowly. "No…I feel worse when I do that."

"Do you want me to get your mom?" Rose asked her.

"Yeah. Mom always knows what to do."

Rose raised an eyebrow. Dawn was often embarrassed by her mother, so she must really not be feeling well.

"Excuse me." Dawn clapped a hand over her mouth and rushed back inside. "Helga! Get out of the bathroom! I need it now!"

"Just a minute!"

"Now!" Dawn barged in through the door Helga had forgotten to lock.

"Dawn! Ew! Gross!" Helga rushed out, her face covered with soap and a sodden washcloth in one hand.

"I'll go get your mom," Rose called to Dawn, hurrying out of the room.

By the time she got back, Dawn was lying down again, her face pale and sweaty. Helga was back in the bathroom with the door open, eyeing Dawn as though she was afraid that she would come back.

"Mom…" Dawn mumbled, opening her eyes. "I don't feel so good. I think it was that stupid turkey sandwich…"

"Paola told you not to order it," Rose told her helpfully.

Dawn fixed her with a baleful glare. "Shut up."

Mrs. Bergen put a hand on her daughter's forehead. "Did you throw up?"

"Yes." Dawn leaned back against the pillows, looking miserable. "Mom, it's not fair. The concert is tonight. I have to go."

"We'll see how you're feeling later."

"Maybe you can get me some of that stuff to calm my stomach down. And maybe that stuff that Grandma talks about…what is it…ginger?"

"I'll see if I can find any."

"You should be able to get it at the drugstore or the supermarket," Jack told Mrs. Bergen. "My next-door neighbours in Santa Monica were from India, and they used it all the time."

Mrs. Bergen nodded. "I'll try that." She smoothed Dawn's hair away from her face. "Get some rest, honey. Sip some Ginger Ale and see if it'll stay down."

Dawn made a disgusted face, but nodded. "Okay, Mom. I have to be better by tonight."

"If you're really feeling better, you can go. If not, I don't want you going there and getting sick. I don't think anyone would appreciate that."

"It's not fair," Dawn mumbled, pulling the blankets back over herself and closing her eyes. "Why does this always happen to me?"

* * *

By evening, Dawn had stopped throwing up, but she still felt miserable. After getting up and trying to get ready for the concert, she finally admitted that she just didn't feel well enough to go.

When the others stopped by to see how she was doing before leaving, Dawn was lying on the bed, clicking through the channels to see if anything about the concert might be on TV. It wasn't the same, though. If it was televised, she could have stayed home and watched it in Canada, or bought the video or DVD later.

"You're still not feeling well?" Rose asked her, looking at her sympathetically.

Dawn's lower lip trembled. "No. And I really want to go, too. I just can't."

Tommy sat down next to her. "Come on, Dawn. There'll be other concerts."

"I wanted to go to this one. How often do you get to go to a concert in Las Vegas? I bet it'll be great."

"We'll take some pictures if they'll let us," Rose promised. "And Jack will make you a couple of drawings."

"And there'll be a CD of it, sure," Helga told her.

"You guys will get to see it live, though," Dawn complained. "I hate food poisoning. I'd kill that virus if I could."

Tommy looked at Dawn, then back at the others. Finally coming to a decision, he said, "You guys have a good time. I'll stay with Dawn."

Dawn's eyes widened as she gaped at him in shock. Tommy was a huge fan of Britney Spears. He even had two posters of her in his room.

"Tommy, you love Britney Spears. You don't want to miss the concert."

He shrugged, looking a little sheepish. "It wouldn't be as much fun without you."

Dawn threw her arms around him. "You're so sweet."

"Yeah. I guess."

"Aw…he's blushing," Fabrizio teased.

Helga gave Fabrizio a flirtatious look. "Would you do that for me?" Fabrizio just stared at her as though she were crazy. Helga smacked him on the back of the head. "Jerk."

"What? What did I do?"

Ruth stuck her head into the room and gestured to them. "Come on, everyone. Your limo is waiting. You don't want to be late." She looked over at Dawn and Tommy, who were stretched out on Dawn's bed. "Aren't you coming, Tommy?"

He shrugged. "No, I thought I'd stay with Dawn."

Ruth nodded. "Behave yourselves."

Dawn groaned. "If I felt well enough to misbehave, I'd go to the concert. He can't even kiss me. He might get sick."

"It would be worth it, for you."

"No, it wouldn't. Trust me." Dawn looked at her friends. "You guys have fun. And you'd better tell me all about it, too."

"We will," Rose promised her. "It won't be half as much fun without you there, anyway."

"Ha. You wouldn't have even been sitting with me."

"But we would have been thinking about you."

"You can still think about me. Poor Dawn, stuck at the hotel while the rest of you go to a great concert…"

"Kids, you're running out of time," Ruth reminded them. "And don't forget that we'll have to catch the plane home two hours after the concert. Don't go anywhere afterwards."

"We'll remember, Mom," Rose told her, sighing. She waved to Dawn and Tommy. "We'll miss you guys!"

"Yeah, right," Dawn mumbled, staring unhappily at the TV.


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter Thirty-Two**

_November 18, 2001_

The four kids piled into the limousine, sorry that Dawn and Tommy weren't going with them, but excited all the same.

"I never think when I go to Canada that I get to see an American singer!" Fabrizio exclaimed, relaxing comfortably next to Helga as the limousine made its way towards the concert.

Rose frowned. "American singers come to Canada sometimes," she told him. "We're not _that_ backwards. And we have some good Canadian singers, too, like Celine Dion."

"I love her music," Helga remarked. "I have all her CD's back in Ireland, but I forgot to bring them when I came to Canada. Do you suppose she'll ever hold a concert in Edmonton, Rose?"

Rose shrugged. "I don't know. I don't usually pay attention to things like that." She grinned, leaning against Jack. "Of course, when you win a concert ticket, that's different."

"And in America, too!" Fabrizio added.

"You're American, Jack," Helga said, looking at him. "Did you go to a lot of concerts when you lived here?"

"A few. I lived in Santa Monica, which is near LA—some people think it _is_ a part of LA—and a lot of concerts are held in LA."

"Is Hollywood near there?" Fabrizio wanted to know.

"Yeah, Hollywood is in LA, too. But I couldn't go to as many concerts as I would have liked—they're expensive, and so is parking, food, drinks…all that."

"Your family wasn't rich?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "If my family was rich, do you think my cousins would be living in that rundown townhouse?"

"It doesn't look so bad to me."

"Hey," Helga interrupted. "We're slowing down—do you think we're almost there?"

"We are! Look!" Rose pointed out the window at a huge sign. "I hope we can get in there before the concert starts."

"If we get stuck in traffic, we can always get out and walk," Jack suggested. "It was nice of Dawn's parents to rent this limousine, especially since we don't have to park it ourselves."

As it turned out, they didn't have to worry. The limousine was able to pull right up to the curb to let them out. A few photographers snapped pictures of them as they climbed out, then looked disappointed when they discovered that the four kids weren't celebrities.

They parted ways soon after going inside, since Jack and Rose had won tickets near the front, while Fabrizio and Helga would be sitting farther back. They moved through the milling crowds to find their seats, then could hardly sit still as they waited for the concert to start.

"It's too bad we didn't win backstage passes, too," Jack complained. "I've always wanted to see what goes on back there."

"At least we got this," Rose told him. "I never would have thought of going to this concert if we hadn't won that contest, and Mom would never have considered it."

"Yeah, we all did get a good weekend from this," Jack agreed. "It's just too bad that Tommy and Dawn couldn't be here."

"Dawn's sick, but Tommy chose not to come. I was surprised. He loves Britney Spears." Rose sighed. "He stayed behind for Dawn—that's one of those things a man will do for the woman he loves." She raised an eyebrow. "Would you do that for me?"

"Of course I would." He leaned over to kiss her as the lights began to fade. "I love you, Rose."

"I love you, too, Jack." Rose returned the kiss, then pulled away. "Now, let's watch the concert."

* * *

"That was great!" Helga shouted when she saw Jack and Rose emerge after the concert.

"What?" Rose yelled, putting a hand behind her ear to indicate that she didn't understand.

"My ears are numb!" Jack added, laughing. He and Rose hurried over to Helga and Fabrizio. "That was so loud!"

"Hah!" Rose remarked, tugging on her right ear. "You were yelling and screaming in my ear!"

"You were yelling, too!"

"Because you were!" Rose punched him playfully on the arm.

"Ow!"

"What?"

"Ow!"

"I didn't hurt you, you big baby!" Rose threw her arms around him, giggling.

"Are you two drunk or something?" Helga asked, staring at them like they'd each grown two heads.

"No! Just high on life!" Jack told her.

"And deaf!" Rose added.

"I won't be able to hear my teachers tomorrow," Fabrizio agreed. He didn't look terribly disappointed at the prospect.

The four of them laughed and horsed around for a few more minutes, until the limousine finally pulled up to the curb. The driver drummed his fingers on the steering wheel impatiently, waiting for them to notice to his presence.

"We'd better get going," Rose told the others reluctantly. "We have to catch the plane, and we have school in the morning."

"I don't know how I'll stay awake," Helga complained, following the others into the limousine.

"Try coffee," Jack suggested.

Helga made a face. "Ugh. I don't think so."

"Maybe we'll be able to stay home tomorrow," Rose suggested hopefully. Then she thought of her mother, and her face fell. "No…Mom'll make me go to school, and if I fall asleep and get in trouble, she'll say 'I told you so.'"

"Yeah. My aunt and uncle will say the same thing," Jack complained. "Didn't they ever have fun when they were kids?"

"Yes," Helga told him. "That's why they don't want us to have any fun."

The others gave her confused looks, but didn't comment as the limousine headed back toward the hotel.


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter Thirty-Three**

_November 19, 2001  
12:53 AM_

"Come on! The plane leaves at two, and we will be arriving at home around five AM." Ruth started fussing at them as soon as they walked through the hotel room door.

"Mom, we only just got back from the concert," Rose complained. "We have some time left."

"Not much. Can you imagine the crowds at the airport on a night like this, especially with all the new security measures here?"

"You are lucky that Tommy and I got bored and started packing all of our stuff." Dawn came out of the bathroom, an overnight bag in her hand.

Dawn was looking a whole lot better. She was still a bit clammy and shaky, but at least she was no longer green and no longer bedridden.

"It's too bad you guys didn't come. It was great," Fabrizio told Tommy and Dawn, humming a Britney Spears tune under his breath.

"I know. Tell me about it!" Dawn complained. "We watched it all on Pay-Per-View."

"You did?" Jack asked. "I didn't know it would be on TV."

"Neither did we, until we were looking at that channel that tells what's on everything else, and we saw it and got my dad to let us order it. We got to watch it after all."

"But it still would have been nice if we could have gone to the actual concert," Tommy said.

"You could have gone," Dawn reminded him. "You didn't have to stay here with me."

"No way, babe. I couldn't do that. Wouldn't you have missed me?"

"Yeah." Dawn smiled at him. "You're so nice."

"Ugh. Now they're going to make out," Helga remarked, watching them look at each other.

Tommy heard the comment. "Make out? No way! She's been barfing all day! That's gross!"

Dawn punched him in the arm. "I haven't barfed in eight hours!"

"See? She's keeping track of it," Tommy teased her.

"I think you'd better stop arguing and get packed," Ruth interrupted, looking at the six teenagers seriously. "We don't want to miss the plane, and all of you have school tomorrow except Dawn."

"School!" Rose complained. "Mom, we won't even be getting into Edmonton until five AM. How do you expect us to be awake enough to go to school?"

"Rose, I told you when I agreed to let you go on this trip that you would be going to school on Monday. Dawn is only getting out of it because she's been sick and we don't want her to relapse. Dawn's parents agree with me. All of you are going to school in the morning."

Rose gave her mother a disgusted look, then stomped off to collect her things. Jack followed her.

"Don't worry. You can sleep in English class," he assured her. "It's boring anyway."

"Speak for yourself. I like English."

"Your class must be different than mine, then." They had the same English teacher, but not at the same time.

"Hey!" Tommy called to them. "We saw you on TV."

Rose looked up, her face brightening with interest. "You did?"

"Yeah."

"How did we look?"

"I don't know. You were too busy locking lips to notice the camera."

Rose and Jack both turned red. "Tommy!" Rose hissed. "Don't say that in front of my mother!"

Ruth looked at the couple, trying to keep a stern expression on her face but not succeeding. Finally, she started laughing.

"I'm not worried," she told them. "You had several thousand chaperones. Kissing won't hurt you—though if any of your classmates was watching the concert on TV, they got an eyeful."

Rose glared at her mother as Ruth left the room. "First she tells me I have to go to school after being up all night, and then she laughs at me. What kind of mother is she?"

"Oh, you know you love her anyway," Helga said, coming over to the closet and packing the last of her things.

"Hmmph. Easy for you to say." Rose scowled, but she was in too good a mood to stay mad for long. She looked at Jack. "You'd better go get your stuff packed. Mom'll really be mad if we miss the plane."

"Yeah. And she's right about the crowds and security. We have to get there soon if we're gonna get on the plane on time. Remember how it was when we got off the plane?"

"Yeah. I guess we'd better get going. Anyway, maybe I can pretend I'm sick and miss cheerleading practice tomorrow, and then sleep all afternoon."

"Yeah. Me, too," Dawn told her, smothering a yawn. Even after sleeping for a lot of the day, she was still tired.

"You really are sick. I can just pretend I caught something from you."

"Yeah, right. Whatever. Or you can just pretend you stayed out in the snow too long. Tommy said that he saw a weather report for snow in Edmonton."

Rose started laughing. She wished that she didn't have to go to school tomorrow, but it had been worth it to go to the concert. Even being tired all day wouldn't make her sorry about that.


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter Thirty-Four**

_November 19, 2001_

The plane landed in Edmonton at five o'clock in the morning. Ruth had to shake Rose and Jack to get them to wake up and leave the plane.

"No, Mom," Rose mumbled. "It's too early to get up."

"Rose, you have to be at school in two and a half hours. I told you what would happen if you went on this trip."

"Huh?"

"Rose, you're still on the plane. You need to come with me. You can sleep in the car on the way back to the house."

"Oh, all right." Rose sleepily unbuckled her seatbelt and got up, shaking Jack. "Come on, Jack. We have to get off the plane."

Jack opened his eyes and looked at her sleepily. "Why? Did we crash?"

"No, we didn't crash. We're back in Edmonton."

"Oh. That's nice." He closed his eyes again.

"Jack, get up!" Rose yanked on his hand. "If I have to get up, so do you."

"Huh? Oh. Whatever." Jack got up slowly.

"Come on, you two. I don't think the people in charge want you camping out in the plane."

Rose looked around sleepily. Helga was already stumbling down the aisle and off the plane, while Fabrizio followed her, looking as bright and cheerful as if it were the middle of the afternoon.

"How does he do that?" Rose mumbled, watching him catch up to Helga.

"Do what?" Jack asked. A huge yawn split his face.

"Nothing. Never mind. I can't remember what I was talking about."

"Oh." Jack followed Rose off the plane, holding onto her hand as though he was sure he would get lost without it.

Ruth helped them collect their bags, then herded them out to the car. Rose and Jack climbed into the back seat, where they promptly fell asleep again.

The car ride seemed much too short. Before they knew it, they were at Jack's house, and Ruth was shaking him awake.

"You're home, Jack. You need to get your bag and go inside."

"Man," Jack whined, sitting up reluctantly and slowly disentangling himself from the seatbelt. "I don't wanna."

"Come on, Jack. I need to get Rose home."

"Rose can stay here."

"I don't think so, Jack. Come on. You just have to go inside."

Jack groaned, getting out of the car. "It's cold out here." He looked surprised as he stepped into the snow. "Where'd the snow come from?"

Ruth laughed lightly. "The sky."

"But it's only November. It don't snow in November."

"It does here, Jack. Come on, now. Your aunt and uncle are waiting for you."

"Okay, okay." Jack rubbed his eyes and took his bag. "Good night, Rose."

Rose slept on, oblivious.

"Oh, never mind." Digging his keys out of his pocket, Jack started towards the front door. "Good night, Mrs. DeWitt-Bukater."

"Good night, Jack, or, should I say, good morning."

Jack just groaned and headed for the door.

* * *

"Mom," Rose whined, an hour later. "Why do I have to get up? I'm still tired."

"We discussed this already, Rose. You knew that you would have to go to school the day after the concert if you went."

"But, Mom…Dawn doesn't have to go to school."

"Dawn is sick. You aren't."

"Yes, I am." Rose closed her eyes and made a face. "I feel awful."

"You'll feel better once you get to school."

"Mom…"

"Now, Rose. Get up and get dressed, or I'll take you to school just as you are."

That got Rose out of bed. "You wouldn't!"

"Yes, I would, Rose. Your education is important. Now, go get dressed."

Rose headed for her closet, mumbling under her breath about how mean her mother was and how none of her friends would be at school.

* * *

Jack, Rose, Tommy, Helga, and Fabrizio sat around a table, all of them except Fabrizio looking as though they were about to fall asleep again.

Rose stared at Fabrizio. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"How are you so wide-awake?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I just am."

"He had three cappuccinos at the concert last night," Helga told them, "and more coffee on the way to school."

"That explains it," Tommy mumbled, his eyes half-closed.

"This sucks," Jack complained. "I don't want to be here."

"Yeah," Rose added. "My mother dragged me out of bed less than an hour ago. I told her I was sick, but she wouldn't listen. She just said that I'd feel better once I got here."

"My uncle pulled all the covers off me and made me get up," Jack told them. "I was freezing, and there's snow outside."

"That should've woke you up," Helga responded, leaning her chin on her fists.

"There's not supposed to be snow in November. It's too early."

"You're just a California kid," Tommy teased him, still sleepy but not sleepy enough to refrain from teasing Jack. "It never even rains where you're from."

"Does so. But it never snows in Santa Monica."

"Then how do you know when it's supposed to snow?"

"Well, it snows in the mountains."

"This is Canada," Rose pointed out. "Not California."

"I don't care where I am. I just want to go back to sleep."

The bell rang, signaling that it was time to go to class. "I hate school," Jack complained.

"You'll feel better when you wake up," Fabrizio assured him.

"Shut up. And go get me some coffee."

* * *

Rose yawned widely as she rummaged through her locker for the books she needed for her homework. She had already told Mrs. Hulstrom that she wasn't coming to cheerleading practice that afternoon—she had blamed it on a headache, which wasn't far from the truth at this point.

She couldn't remember how many times she'd fallen asleep in class, especially in math, which she thought was particularly boring. She had slept very peacefully in that class until one of her classmates had thrown an eraser at her, waking her up and leaving her in a sour mood.

Rose frowned as a folded piece of paper tumbled from the locker and fell to the floor. Picking it up, she unfolded it and read the message.

_My love,_

_I know about your trip to Las Vegas to see that concert. I hope you enjoyed yourself, because you won't be going again. I saw you and your boyfriend kissing on TV, and I want you to know that the sight angered me. You and I are meant to be together, and we will be—one way or another._

_I am watching you, Rose._

Like the other times, the note wasn't signed. Rose turned it over and over, trying to find any indication as to who had sent it. She was sure that it was Cal, but she had no proof. If she could only find proof—she could make sure that he stayed away from her.

But there was nothing on the note to indicate who it had come from, and she had no way of knowing when it had been left, or who had left it. People would have noticed if Cal had been on campus, since he wasn't a student and was a prominent businessman.

"Rose?"

Rose jumped, whirling around as Jack came up behind her. "Jack! You scared me!"

"What's wrong?"

"I got another one of those stupid notes. Jack, I know it's Cal, but I don't have proof, and the police won't listen to me."

Jack took the note and read it, his eyes narrowing. "He'd better stay away from you."

"I hope he does, but this note…it scares me. He says that we'll be together one way or another."

"Listen, Rose. I think you should avoid being by yourself. If he is stalking you, he might be waiting for an opportunity to get to you. Don't even stay home alone. If your mom isn't there, and neither are any of your servants, go to one of our houses. Okay? I don't like this. This note sounds real threatening."

"I know." Rose rubbed her eyes. "Jack, I'm so tired…and I'm tired of this. Why won't he just leave me alone?"

"I don't know, Rose." Jack put an arm around her as they began to walk away from the locker. "But I'll do everything I can to keep him from hurting you."

"Thanks, Jack." Rose leaned against him. A thought suddenly occurred to her. "Jack, lots of times when I've gotten these notes, there's been an obscene e-mail, too. Let's stop by the library and see if there is one this time."

"Okay." Jack took her hand in his as he walked beside her. "But let's make it quick. I'm ready to fall asleep on my feet."

* * *

Rose stood beside Jack in McDonald's, looking around nervously. There had indeed been an obscene e-mail, once again from a free address that had been deleted after the e-mail had been sent. It had said the same thing as the note, with one added line.

_Dawson doesn't deserve you._

Whoever it was, they had definitely been watching her and knew what she was doing. And if it was Cal…Rose shuddered. She didn't want him anywhere near her, and she didn't want his obscene notes, either.

"Rose? Are you okay?"

Rose looked up at Jack, who was waiting patiently for their order so that they could leave. By the time they had been finished with the library, they had both found themselves to be even more hungry than they were tired—hence the trip to McDonald's.

"I—I'm fine. I'm just thinking about that note and that e-mail."

Jack nodded. "This is scary, Rose. Whoever it is really has been watching you."

"I know. And they—oh, my God!"

"What?" Jack looked in the direction she was staring, to see Cal sitting at a table, watching them quietly. "What is he doing here?"

"Waiting for his order, apparently." Rose stopped. "He wasn't ahead of us when we were ordering, and we've been watching the counter while we were waiting ever since."

Jack ducked his head, turning Rose around so that Cal couldn't see their faces. "Do you think he's following you?"

Rose nodded, her face paling. "He must be. Why would he be sitting there like that if he wasn't? He doesn't have any food, and he hasn't been in line…"

"Maybe he's waiting for someone else."

"Why would someone like him be meeting someone in McDonald's? I know Cal, and he prefers the country club and expensive restaurants. Why is he here, if not to keep an eye on me?"

Jack put an arm around her. She was shaking with fright.

"I don't know, Rose. Let's just get our food and get out of here."

At that moment, their order number was called, and they hurried up to get it. Not looking back, they headed for the door, trying not to make it look as though they were hurrying.

When they got outside, Jack turned to Rose. "Rose, you need to tell your mother about this."

"Jack, I've already showed her the notes and e-mails, and told her about the hang-up calls. She's talked to the police, but they won't do anything, and Cal always has an alibi. It won't do anything but worry her."

"But how much more would it worry her if something was going on and you didn't tell her? How would she feel if something happened to you and you had given her no sign that you were still getting these notes and e-mails?"

"Jack!"

"It's true, Rose. What if something happened?"

Rose took a deep breath. "All right. I'll tell her. But if Cal doesn't leave me alone, I'll…I'll…I don't know what I can do. I can't even prove it's him!"

"Rose, come on. Let's get you home."

Rose nodded miserably, walking back to the campus with Jack to catch the late bus. As they passed the window Cal had been sitting by, she looked up.

Cal was gone.


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter Thirty-Five**

_November 19, 2001_

Jack yawned widely as he walked towards the townhouse, dragging his backpack behind him by one strap. He had fallen asleep on the bus, and only the fact that his snoring had irritated someone else on the bus who lived in the same neighborhood as him had kept him from missing his stop. Annoyed, his neighbor had shaken him awake, pushing him off the bus while the driver had watched, shaking his head.

Luckily, the bus had stopped not far from where Jack lived, so it taken him only a few minutes to make his way back to his cousins' townhouse. He walked towards the front door, frowning at the sight of a strange car parked in front of the house. _Is someone visiting?_ he wondered, then put the thought from his head.

Jack's eyes drooped sleepily as he pushed his key into the lock, then frowned as the doorknob turned easily. Of course, he should have expected someone to be home this late, but he was so tired…

"Jack!" Sandy and Johnny raced towards him, throwing their arms around his legs and almost knocking him off his feet.

"Mommy's mad 'cause you're not home yet," Johnny informed him bluntly, grinning widely. "She said she was gonna look for you herself if you didn't show up soon."

"Yeah," Sandy added. "She said you'd better not be sleeping at Rose's house, 'cause she didn't want—"

"Sandy! Johnny! That's enough!" Margaret came out of the living room, pulling them away from their cousin. Looking at Jack, she added, "It's about time you got home. We've been waiting for you. I was ready to call Rose's house and see if you were there, but I know that she and her mother were out as late as you, and I didn't want to disturb them if they were sleeping."

"It's okay, Aunt Margaret," Jack told her, yawning. "Rose and I went to the library after school. Something important came up."

"Well, I'm glad you're home. We have guests."

Jack vaguely remembered seeing a strange car parked out front. "There's a car out there."

Margaret sighed. "Yes, I know. That's what the guests arrived in. They'll be staying with us for a while. Luckily, they don't mind taking the couch bed."

"Who're the guests?" Jack wanted to know.

"Why don't you go in and see for yourself? They wanted to surprise you."

He shrugged. "Okay." Yawning, he headed for the living room.

He came abruptly awake at the sight of the guests. "Trudy? Kenneth? What are you doing here? I thought you were in New York."

Trudy jumped to her feet and ran to give her brother a hug, then pulled away, sighing, as a wail went up from the crib set up in a corner of the living room.

"Sorry. Julie and Emma don't enjoy traveling much. They've been crying off and on since we left New York."

"What—when did you get here?" Jack asked, his exhaustion forgotten now.

"About ten o'clock this morning. Our cousins knew we were coming, so they left a key for us under the doormat."

"Why are you here?" Jack knew that the question sounded rude as soon as he said it, but his tired brain wasn't working very well at the moment.

Trudy looked annoyed for a moment, then sat down on the couch again, smiling slightly as she cradled Emma in her arms. "You look tired, so I'm going to ignore that," she told him. "Margaret told us that you and your friends got back from Las Vegas at five o'clock this morning."

Jack nodded. "We did. And we all had to go to school anyway. It was horrible."

Trudy smiled, moving closer to Kenneth and making space on the couch for Jack. She patted the spot. "Come on. Sit down."

Jack slouched down beside her, yawning, remembering again that he was tired. "So, what brings you to Canada? I thought Kenneth had to work and you were looking for a new job."

"I haven't succeeded in finding another job in New York," Trudy explained. "Things haven't been so good there since 9/11. And Kenneth's company is still going, but they're having a slowdown. Still, their foreign offices are doing well, and that's what brings us here."

At Jack's questioning look, Kenneth elaborated, "I've been transferred to the Sherwood Park office, not far from Edmonton. We're staying here until we find a place of our own."

"Okay." Jack sat for a moment, digesting this information. "I don't think I've been to Sherwood Park yet."

"Neither have I," Trudy told him, "but Kenneth went to the office after we got here to find out what was going on. He'll officially start work Wednesday."

Jack nodded. "Okay. But what are you gonna do?"

"Well, as soon as I can do so legally, I'm going to look for a job, too. For now, I'll look for a place for us while Kenneth works." She looked apologetically at Margaret. "It's not that we don't appreciate your letting us stay here, but it is kind of crowded. You have your own family to take care of, and there's four of us, too—and two of us are wailing babies."

"Well, you're welcome to stay as long as you need," Margaret told Trudy, picking Johnny up and setting him in her lap. Johnny put his thumb in his mouth, staring at Emma in fascination. "Johnny certainly doesn't mind the babies."

"You make a good cousin, don't you, Johnny?" Kenneth asked, leaning forward and looking at the boy.

Johnny shrank back into his mother's lap a little, a bit shy. He nodded, taking his thumb from his mouth, then popped it back in, turning his attention to the crib in the corner, where Julie was beginning to stir.

Kenneth got up and picked Julie up before she could start crying. Trudy started to open her blouse so that she could feed the babies, then looked at apologetically at Jack, who was blushing and trying to look anywhere else.

Kenneth handed her Julie and a large blanket. Trudy took the blanket gratefully, covering the nursing babies.

"Jack," she began. "Margaret says you're still going out with Rose."

"Yeah. We're together," Jack mumbled, embarrassed in spite of the blanket now covering the twins.

"Well, I would like to get to know her better. I never really paid that much attention to who your friends were when we were younger, or let you get to know my boyfriends. I'd like to change that. I can't do anything about what happened five years ago, but I can get to know your girlfriend now."

"I didn't have girlfriend five years ago," Jack mumbled. "Except for that girl who kept chasing me, but she was dumb."

Trudy sighed. She knew that Jack had always been a bit resentful of her because she had spent so little time with him and their parents, but she wanted a fresh start. "Margaret says that she's putting together a big dinner on Saturday to celebrate our moving here. I'd like you to invite Rose." She turned to Margaret. "Is that okay?"

"Sure. I like Rose. She's a sweet girl."

"Jack, why don't you go and call her now? See if she wants to come. Then, you can come back and tell us about your trip to Las Vegas."

"I don't know. She might be sleeping…"

"Jack!" Margaret scolded. "Stop being rude and go call her!"

"I'm going, I'm going." Jack yawned, getting up and heading for the phone.

He hesitated before dialing the number. Rose was probably asleep. It would be better to call her later, or e-mail her. But he didn't want to make his aunt mad, or his sister.

Finally, he punched in the number. The phone rang a few times before it was picked up, Rose's drowsy voice coming over the line.

"Hello?" The word was obscured by a huge yawn.

"Rose? It's Jack."

"Oh, hi, Jack. What's going on?"

"It turns out that my sister and her husband have come to Canada to live. Kenneth's been transferred to his company's office in Sherwood Park."

Rose yawned. "That's nice, Jack. Can we talk about it later? I can hardly keep my eyes open."

"Rose, wait a minute. Aunt Margaret's fixing a big dinner on Saturday, and she and Trudy wanted me to invite you. Can you come?"

"Hold on a second." Jack heard some papers rustling as she checked the calendar. "Yeah, I can be there. What time?"

"Uh…hold on. Let me find out." Jack covered the mouthpiece and called to his aunt. "Aunt Margaret? When's dinner on Saturday?"

"About five, Jack."

"Five." He listened for a moment. "Rose?"

"Huh?"

"You still there?"

"Oh…uh…yeah…I think I dozed off."

"Dinner on Saturday's at five."

"Oh, okay. Yeah, I can be there. We don't have a game that night."

"Good. Trudy says she wants to get to know you better."

"That's nice." There was a clunk as the phone hit the floor. "Dammit."

"I'm gonna let you go now, Rose, before you fall asleep. Okay?"

"Uh-huh. Remind me later what we talked about, okay?"

"Sure. Good night, Rose."

"Uh-huh."

There was a click as she hung up the phone.

Jack shook his head, hanging up the phone and yawning. He almost collided with his uncle as he left the kitchen.

John looked at him, eyebrow raised. "Jack, go get some sleep before you hurt yourself."

"I'm okay."

"Jack, now." His uncle pointed up the stairs.

"But Trudy—"

"You can talk to Trudy later. Upstairs. Now."

Jack grumbled a little, but it was more for show than anything else as he headed upstairs and collapsed on his bed, asleep before his head hit the pillow.


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter Thirty-Six**

_November 24, 2001_

Jack looked up as the doorbell rang, then hurried to answer it, hoping it was Rose. She had agreed to be there at 4:30 so she could talk to everyone before dinner, but it was 4:45 and there was no sign of her.

He broke into a grin when he opened the door and saw her standing there, hunched against the cold. "Rose! It's about time you got here!"

She didn't return his smile. "Sorry I'm late. I got another one of those crank letters and Mom saw it. She wanted to call the police and have them go over it for fingerprints, even though I've already done that and they wouldn't do anything. She's sure it's Cal, too."

Jack looked out into the twilight, half-expecting someone to be standing there watching them, but he saw no one. Nevertheless, he hurried Rose inside, shutting the door firmly behind them.

"What did the letter say?" he asked quietly, taking her coat and hanging it on the coat rack near the door.

"Pretty much the same thing as the note and the e-mail I got Monday said. It was postmarked Monday, too."

"He's being thorough, making sure you get his message."

"I got another hang-up call yesterday, too." Rose shook her head, wrapping her arms around herself protectively. "Jack, I'm sick of this. It scares me, and I have to be on guard all the time. Maybe if I confronted Cal about it myself—"

"If you confronted him in a public place, he'd just deny it and try to make you look crazy. If you confronted him in private, he might…do something to you." He looked at her seriously. "Rose, please don't. I don't want you getting hurt."

"Jack, I don't know what else to do."

"Has he actually approached you?"

"No. Not yet."

"Then try to stay away from him and be around other people all the time. He probably won't do anything if he thinks someone else is going to see it."

Margaret walked out of the kitchen just then. "Jack, Rose, go get washed up. Dinner's ready."

"Sure, Aunt Margaret." Jack turned back to Rose. "Rose, I don't know what else to say…"

"It's just so frustrating, Jack! And scary. What if he decides that stupid notes and hang-up calls aren't enough?"

"That's what worries me. You told me what he tried to do right before you two broke up…what if he tries it again?"

"I wasn't going to tell you this, but Mom got me some mace. If he threatens me, I can spray him with it."

"Be careful, Rose. That stuff's illegal here without a bunch of paperwork."

"I know, but sometimes you need a little extra protection."

"I know. Just don't use it on me, okay?"

"I wouldn't dream of it."

* * *

It was nearly 5:30 before dinner was served. Although the food had been ready half an hour earlier, the twins had been crying and Margaret had waited dinner until Trudy and Kenneth were done taking care of them.

Now the twins lay in their carriers on chairs, Emma sound asleep and Julie sucking happily at a pacifier laced with honey. Everyone else sat around the table, Johnny staring admiringly at Rose and Sandy turning around continuously to look at the babies.

When everyone had been served, Jack looked at his sister. "You said you were going to tell us how you met Kenneth and everything. Are you?"

"Jack, don't be rude," John told him sternly.

"Sorry," Jack mumbled, looking down at his plate. He was still a little resentful of the fact that his sister had so rarely been around in the past few years. He knew that she'd had a falling out with their parents and had gotten herself into some trouble, but she still could have contacted him more often, could have told him that she had gotten married and had twins. In fact, had the tragic events of 9/11 not occurred, he would still probably not know about her husband and children.

Trudy looked at Kenneth, then at Jack and his guest. "Yes, I'm going to tell you," she answered, "but it is a long story. Maybe I should just start from the beginning."

As Kenneth put a comforting hand on her back, she went on. "I guess you remember, Jack, that my teenage years were rather…wild ones."

Jack nodded, taking a drink of water and looking at her. Wild was an understatement. He remembered her being gone for days, coming home late at night and fighting loudly with their parents, and finally moving out just before she turned eighteen. His parents had always been tense when they talked about her, and tenser when she was there with them.

"I…um…really got into the whole rebellious teenager thing…hanging out with a bad crowd, smoking, drinking, experimenting with…uh…well…a lot of things. I didn't want to listen, didn't want to go to school…though somehow I managed to finish high school anyway. Mom and Dad kept after me, nagged me, wouldn't let me do what I wanted…and I really resented that. Looking back now, I can see that they were right…most of the time, anyway…but I didn't see it then.

"Anyway, I met Kenneth when I was a junior in high school and he was busy trying to balance partying and college. Mom and Dad didn't like him, especially since he was four years older than me and I was always trying to hang out at his apartment and go to college parties. They thought he was immature and irresponsible, which kind of described us both, really. Things came to a head when I took off for the weekend with him without telling anyone and Mom and Dad reported me missing."

Jack nodded, remembering his parents' frantic phone calls to anyone they thought Trudy might be with. "I know you came home that weekend, but nobody ever told me exactly what happened."

"Well, the cops found Kenneth and me in a bar in Riverside. No one had checked my ID, so I had no trouble getting in. They were actually checking to see if anyone under twenty-one was getting drinks there, so I got caught, and when they got my name, they found out that I was a missing person. I wasn't very happy about that—I thought Mom and Dad should have trusted me. Anyway, they wanted to take me to the station and get my parents to pick me up, but I didn't want to go and made that clear when I threw my drink in a cop's face. I got arrested, Kenneth had to call Mom and Dad because I wouldn't, and they bailed me out and took me home the next day.

"I was mad at Kenneth for calling them—I would rather have sat in jail than let them know I needed help. Mom and Dad grounded me for the rest of the school year when they got me home—not only had I run off and gotten caught in a bar, but a drug test revealed that I'd been smoking pot. I blamed Kenneth for giving it to me."

Rose looked at her incredulously. "How did you ever end up married to each other after all that?"

"Well, I didn't see him for a couple of years. My parents watched me like a hawk and I couldn't get away with anything—though I did try. We finally had this big blow-up three days before my eighteenth birthday and I walked out. They didn't go after me that time.

"I still thought I knew everything, but I was in for a rude awakening. There was no one to buy my food or clothes or put a roof over my head, and none of my friends would help me—either they'd grown up a little and were sick of me, or they were as bad as I was and got into just as much trouble. I got a job but got fired when I decided I didn't need to show up, and then I wound up on the streets for a while. I might have been there longer if I hadn't run across Kenneth again.

"He'd flunked out of college and had gone downhill from there—too much alcohol and pot. His parents, unlike mine, kept bailing him out, but finally they got tired of that and told him that if he didn't shape up they wouldn't have anything to do with him anymore. The night we met again, he was coming out of an AA meeting and I was looking for a handout.

"We kind of stared at each other for a while, not knowing what to do. I made a rude remark, but he just shrugged it off and headed for his car. That made me mad, so I followed him, yelling at him all the while. He finally asked if I was done yet, and since I wasn't, he just sat there and stared at me until I quit yelling. Finally, he offered me a ride home, and when I admitted I didn't have anywhere to go, he invited me home with him—he was living in a rundown apartment in Hollywood. Since I didn't have anything better to do, I went with him.

"He introduced me to some of his new friends and convinced me to go to a couple of meetings with him. I hadn't really been drinking much for a while, but I went anyway. After a while, I tried getting another job and finally succeeded in getting hired at a Burger King. It wasn't much, but it was something, and I did my best at it.

"Then Kenneth's boss decided to transfer him to New York, and I went with him. I got a job as a receptionist with the company I worked for at the World Trade Center, and then got promoted to a good secretarial position not long after Kenneth and I got married. I never told Mom and Dad that I'd married him—I knew they wouldn't like it—and I didn't tell you, either, Jack—it just felt too awkward, and I was afraid you would tell them. Emma and Julie were born eight months after we were married. I thought about telling Mom and Dad about it then—but then the fire happened not long after the twins were born, and I went to the funeral—and it didn't feel right to announce it then. Now you know, but—I'm sorry I made you wait so long to find out. And you moved to Canada, and I stayed in New York, and—well, it's only luck that we're all here together now. I guess Kenneth would have contacted you if I had died in the terrorist attacks, but I'm glad I didn't, and I'm glad that we're all here now."

Emma stirred, whimpering, and Trudy turned to check on her, giving her a honey-laced pacifier to match her sister's. When she turned back, her cousins, Jack, and Rose were staring at her, none sure what to say. Jack had been well-aware of his sister's penchant for wild behavior when she was growing up, but he'd never imagined that she'd known her husband that long, or that he had helped get her off the streets and out of her downward spiral. For that matter, he'd never realized she'd been on the streets—he'd always assumed she was living somewhere and didn't want to contact her family.

In spite of everything, though, she was still his sister, and they'd been closer when they were younger. He'd been hurt when she'd drifted away from him as she grew older, but he'd loved her anyway. He'd been terrified that something had happened to her when the terrorist attacks had occurred, and had been relieved to learn that she was alive and well.

Slowly, he put his fork down and got up, walking over to her. Surprised, Trudy got up, too, gasping when he enveloped her in a bear hug, squeezing her tight.

"I missed you, Trudy," he told her. "I'm glad you're going to be living around here."

"I missed you, too, little brother." Trudy reached up and ruffled his hair. "Thanks for not giving up on me." She hugged him back.

"Oh…" Rose was looking at them, her hands clasped. "That is so sweet…"

Jack moved away from his sister, a little embarrassed. He sat down next to Rose again as she flashed him an apologetic look. She really had thought it was sweet, but she hadn't realized how saying so would embarrass Jack.

Trudy laughed a little, sitting back down next to Kenneth. "Well, enough about me. Jack, tell me about Edmonton and school and everything. If I'm going to be living here, I want to know what's going on."

Jack chuckled, reaching under the table and squeezing Rose's hand to let her know he wasn't mad at her. He looked over at Trudy.

"Well, I think Rose could tell you more about Edmonton than I can, but…" He started telling her about everything that had been happening since he had moved there, from meeting Rose in a chatroom to their trip to Las Vegas.

Everyone was laughing by the time dinner was over, and Trudy smiled at Jack warmly, knowing that he had forgiven her for not being there for him in their younger years.


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter Thirty-Seven**

_December 15, 2001  
Edmonton, AB_

It was the Saturday before Christmas break, and Tommy had gathered the gang in his basement family room for a surprise.

"So, why did you call us all here?" Rose grabbed some Ketchup Chips from a bowl on the table, and she offered some to Jack, who sniffed them before taking a small bite. He swallowed it with a sour expression on his face.

She laughed and handed him some water. "They are a bit strong if you aren't used to them."

"Tell us, Tommy." Helga frowned. "Don't keep us in suspense."

"Wait." He searched his pockets and pulled out a silver key. "The key to our freedom!"

His smile faded when he saw that nobody was sharing his excitement.

They all just stared at him for a moment, looking puzzled.

"Oh!" A look of understanding appeared on Dawn's face as she got up and wrapped her arms around Tommy, giving him a kiss. "It's the key to the Banff cabin!"

"Or the T. Ryan Pad." Rose smirked.

Fabrizio gazed at the key for a moment. "T. Ryan Pad?"

"Tommy's parents rarely use it, so he dubbed it his own weekend bachelor retreat."

It wasn't really a cabin. It was a duplex on the edge of the town of Banff in Banff National Park. The Ryans went up there a few times a year for a few weeks in the summer or for the Labor Day weekend. Rose had been there a few times, but, unlike Dawn, who was there for the long weekend in September, she hadn't been up there since the previous summer. But Mr. and Mrs. Ryan had always joined them. They would never trust the teens to be out there by themselves.

"Aren't your parents going to be there?"

Tommy just grinned. "Nope. They are going to Canmore to visit my sister."

"So how do you get there?" Jack asked.

"Oh, that's easy! You go down south for about three and a half hours until you get to Calgary. Then you go east—"

"West." Dawn rolled her eyes and settled back on the couch.

"_West._" He frowned at Dawn as she stuck out her tongue at him. "For another hour and a half, and—voila!"

"It's very cute. It's on a bottom corner of Sulfer Mountain, across the road that leads to the Martins' stables. You also only have to walk five minutes to the stone bridge, and then you are downtown. They have a Safeway and even a movie theater. It's very civilized, unlike the Jasper National Park town site, which is only a few hours north. And they are both on the Alberta/British Columbia border. On the other end of Sulfer Mountain, there is this Gondola that takes you up it. And there is this round building at the top with a gift shop, restaurant, and an observation deck all stacked on top of each other. You follow the boardwalk and it takes you to the other mountain peak." Dawn's eyes glittered with excitement. "And the closest hot springs is in the same parking lot as the Gondola entrance gift shop," she added. "Oh." Her mouth formed an O of surprise. "Rose, doesn't Cal own a cabin out there in the middle of the wilderness? I mean, he might want to bring some of his family out there or something!"

"Cal's cabin is in Jasper. Plus, his family lives on Vancouver Island, and they always go overseas for Christmas."

"Whew."

"Excuse me, but when are we going?" Helga asked.

"The Friday after Christmas," Tommy answered. "Why?"

"I can't go. I'm going home for the holidays."

"Aw…that's too bad, Helga." Jack sighed, and watched as Rose cuddled up to him. He had forgotten that they all didn't live in Edmonton full time. Playing with her hair for a moment, he had a thought.

"Fabrizio, are you going home for Christmas?"

"No. My family can only afford to send me home when the school year is over."

"What are you thinking, Jack?" Rose sat up and straightened.

"Well, perhaps we could have sort of a going away party."

"In Helga's honor, of course," he added.

"Sounds good." Fabrizio got up and headed towards the downstairs bathroom.

Dawn squealed. "Oh, it's been such a long time since we had a party! We could invite the cheer team, the football team…" She counted them off on her fingers and started into a long babble of things they just _had_ to do.

Tommy, not even pretending to understand what she was going on about, glanced over at the clock.

"Listen, guys, not to be rude or anything, but I think it's time for you go. I have practice at 3:30, and it's already 2:37."

"Yeah. No problem." Rose headed towards the stairs and grabbed her bag. "Dawn and I have to go to cheerleading practice anyhow."

"Okay, so talk to your parents or guardians and call me to let me know if you guys can make it."

They all agreed and headed upstairs, shutting off the light behind them.

"Um...guys?" Fabrizio called out, emerging into the dark and empty basement. "Hello?"


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter Thirty-Eight**

_December 20, 2001  
Edmonton, AB_

"You guys! You didn't have to do this!" Helga exclaimed, looking around the brightly lit room. "I'll be back in a few weeks, you know."

"Yes, but we wanted to," Dawn told her.

"Besides, it gives us an excuse to have a party," Tommy added, putting an arm around Dawn.

The room was decorated with tinsel and Christmas lights. A large, decorated fir tree stood in one corner, and poinsettias sat on the tables. Rose looked around, smiling proudly.

"It was Jack's idea to use all those poinsettias," she told Helga, "and my idea to use my house, because I have the best family room."

"Where's your mom?" Jack asked, looking around. Some of the guests were beginning to arrive, but he saw no sign of Rose's mother.

"She's around here somewhere, and so is the housekeeper, Mrs. Bourdais. They promised not to interfere unless there's trouble, though."

"Well, what are we standing around for? Let's party!" Dawn hurried over to turn the music on.

Fabrizio was one of the last guests to arrive. "Sorry," he apologized. "I couldn't get a ride."

"You should've called!" Rose told him. "One of us would have gone to get you."

"Anyway, you're here now," Helga said, grabbing his arm. "Want to dance?"

"I don't know how."

"Neither do I! Just go with it!" Jack shouted after them.

They gave him a strange look, but he ignored them, turning to Rose. "Come on!"

"What?" Rose giggled, a little giddy after drinking the champagne-spiked punch.

"Let's dance!" He leaned closer. "And don't let your mom know there's alcohol here. I don't know about your mom, but my parents would have killed me if I'd ever had alcohol at a party."

"I didn't bring it."

"I wonder who did?" Jack spun her around, laughing.

"Don't know. But it sure makes the punch good!"

They'd been dancing for about ten minutes when Rose caught sight of an unwelcome guest in the corner, watching them dance and whispering to her friends.

"Who let her in?"

"Who?"

"Stacey. She's right over there. Remember—she wanted my spot on the cheerleading squad? She wants you, too."

"Don't worry, Rosie. You're the only girl for me."

"Jack…she isn't supposed to be here. She wasn't invited! Neither were her snotty friends."

"What do you want to do?"

"Let's go talk to Dawn and Tommy. They helped plan this party."

They found Dawn and Tommy standing next to the refreshment table. Tommy handed Dawn a cup of punch, which she sipped and then set aside, making a face.

"Tommy, go get me a Coke, will you?"

"What's wrong with the punch?"

"It tastes funny." Dawn looked up to see Jack and Rose approaching. "Oh…hey, guys. Having fun?"

Rose gave Dawn a funny look. "I thought you liked champagne."

"Not in punch."

"Really? Since when—"

"I'll tell you later, okay?" She took the Coke Tommy brought her and opened it. "Anyway, you look worried. What's wrong?"

"Stacey and her friends are here."

"Stacey's here? Who's she with?"

"Her friends. Did you invite them?"

"Of course not! She's a snob. Maybe she came with one of the guys on the football team."

"Not that I know of." Tommy looked in the direction Rose pointed in. "I know all those guys, and they're all here with other girls, except Paul, who never brings anybody. Besides, she's got a crush on Jack."

"I didn't invite her!" Jack gave Tommy an annoyed look.

"I know. Rose would kill you if you did."

"So we know she's crashing the party, then?"

"I don't think Fabrizio or Helga would have invited her or her friends, either."

"I know they wouldn't," Rose spoke up. "I overheard them making fun of Helga and Fabrizio because they're foreigners."

"And yet she has a crush on Jack, who's American." Dawn frowned. "She is such a—" She cut herself off, taking a sip of her Coke. "I'm going to be nice. I'm not going to lower myself to her level." She set her drink down. "Let's throw her out."

The other three looked at each worriedly, but followed Dawn across the room to confront Stacey.

Stacey looked a little scared when she saw them coming, but quickly hid it under a big, fake smile. "Nice party, you guys," she said, smirking. "Enjoying the punch?"

"You're the one who put the champagne in the punch!" Dawn accused. "Now you've ruined it for everybody!"

Stacey shrugged. "It looks like most people are enjoying it."

"That's not the point!" Rose sputtered angrily. "You weren't invited!"

"Everybody goes to parties like this one."

"Not at _my_ house."

"Oh, so you're better than everybody else?"

Rose clenched her fists. "Leave!" She pointed to the door.

One of Stacey's friends spoke up. "Why don't you leave her alone?"

"Because she wasn't invited! Neither were you!"

"We're not hurting anything."

"Go away!" Rose's voice was getting louder. People turned to stare at them, some yelling encouragement and laughing.

"What is going on down here?" Everyone looked up as Ruth came down the stairs, her attention focused on the group in the corner. "Rose, what's going on?"

"They were just leaving, Mom." Rose glared at Stacey and her friends.

"I don't know why you invited us if you were going to be so rude." Stacey put on an innocent look.

"You weren't invited! You crashed the party! Now, leave!" Rose's face was turning red.

"Rose, calm down." Ruth came up behind her. "Girls, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Stacey shrugged. "Who cares? This party sucks anyway. You're just a bunch of losers. Who invites their mom to a party, anyway?"

"Leave, girls. Now." Ruth stared at them coolly.

"We're going. Come on. We're wasting our time here." Stacey got up and headed for the door, followed by her entourage of friends.

"Sour grapes!" Helga shouted after them, drawing laughter from a few partygoers.

"And don't come back, bitch!" Rose shouted at Stacey, sticking out her tongue when Stacey turned and gave her the finger.

"Rose! There's no need for such language," Ruth reprimanded her. "Now, before I go upstairs, are there any other problems? Do you need anything?"

Rose thought about the champagne, but decided not to mention it. "No, Mom. Everything's fine." She smiled weakly. "You can go back to whatever you were doing. We'll clean up when everything's over."

"All right. But, Rose, if there are anymore problems, call me, okay?"

"Sure, Mom."

* * *

In the early hours of the morning, after the party ended, Jack and Tommy were putting the family room back together while Rose and Dawn washed dishes and put away the leftover food. The punch had all been consumed, and fortunately Stacey had taken the champagne bottle with her, so Rose wasn't worried about getting caught with alcohol.

As she washed out the empty punch bowl, she turned to Dawn, lowering her voice. "So, since when do you not like champagne in your punch?"

"Since…Rose, you have to promise not to tell anyone what I'm going to tell you. Not your mom, not Jack…_nobody_."

Rose nodded. "Sure. I can keep a secret. Dawn, what's wrong?"

"Remember the trip to Las Vegas last month?"

"Yes."

"Remember how I was sick and couldn't go to the concert, and Tommy stayed with me?"

Rose nodded, then clapped her hands over her mouth. "Oh, my God! Don't tell me he sneaked in some champagne and you got caught with it!"

Dawn looked at her like she was crazy. "No, of course not. Where would he have gotten champagne? Everything went on my parents' bill, and he's underage. He would have had trouble getting any champagne or anything even if he'd tried."

"So what's wrong?"

"My parents and your mom went out during the concert and left us by ourselves, and…uh…"

"And what?"

"I…uh…I think I'm pregnant."

"Oh, my God!" Rose's voice was louder than she intended, and Dawn winced.

"Rose, shut up! I don't want anybody to find out."

"Does Tommy know?"

"No, and you're not going to tell him, either. I'm not even sure yet."

"Have you been to the doctor?"

"No. I don't want my parents to find out."

"If you're pregnant, they'll find out eventually anyway."

"And if I'm not?"

"Why don't you go to the Medicentre for a pregnancy test? Then you won't have to tell them unless you're sure."

"I don't know, Rose…"

"I'll go with you. What are friends for? Just make an appointment and I'll come with you so you can find out. I won't say anything unless you want me to."

Dawn was silent for a few minutes, thinking. Finally, she turned to her best friend.

"Okay, Rose. But only if you come with me."

"I will. You can count on me."


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter Thirty-Nine**

_December 22, 2001  
Edmonton, AB_

"I don't know, Rose," Dawn said as they stood outside the Medicentre, bundled up against the December cold. "I mean, what if this is all in my head? I'll look stupid."

"I don't think it's in your head," Rose responded, casting a significant look at Dawn's middle.

Dawn rolled her eyes. "Ha ha. That's not what I meant and you know it." She looked at the door of the Medicentre again, then turned to walk away. "I'm probably not pregnant. Let's just go home and forget about this."

Rose caught her arm before she could leave. "You need to find out for sure. After all, you told me that you haven't had your period since October, and you've been having morning sickness, and you've been tired more…"

"Yeah, but…" Dawn sighed. "I'm just scared, Rose. What if I am pregnant? Then what do I do?"

"First, you find out if you're pregnant or not. If you are, then you decide what to do. If you're not, you find out what else is making you sick and see if it can be cured."

Dawn put her head in her hands and groaned. "Great. Now I have two things to worry about. First I have to worry about being pregnant, and then I have to worry about what's wrong with me if I'm not. I don't know which is worse."

"Well, why don't we go in before we freeze to death out here and it doesn't matter what's wrong with you? Then you can worry about what comes next."

Dawn wrapped her arms around herself and groaned again, but followed Rose inside.

* * *

Dawn sat nervously next to Rose in the waiting room, tapping her feet so incessantly that Rose wanted to stomp on them just to get her to stop. It had been almost two hours since they'd gone inside, and Dawn's patience had run out long before.

"Why does it take so long to get a stupid pregnancy test? At this rate, I'll have the baby here in the waiting room if I'm pregnant!"

Rose rolled her eyes. "I told you we should have gotten here first thing in the morning. Now we have to wait for all the people who got here before us."

"But I just need a pregnancy test! How long can it possibly take?"

At that moment, a nurse stepped into the waiting room. "Dawn Bergen?"

Dawn froze, her feet going still.

"Get going," Rose hissed, trying to pull her out of her chair.

"I changed my mind. I'm not ready yet. Someone else can go in now." Dawn tried to sit back down.

"You've been complaining about the wait for two hours! Go on!"

"I'm going to get you for this," Dawn mumbled.

"Get Tommy first. It's his fault you're in this mess."

Dawn bared her teeth at Rose, trying to look fierce, but wound up looking scared instead. Rose gave her friend a quick hug.

"Go on. I'll wait for you here, and then we can go get some lunch if you're hungry."

* * *

Dawn came out forty minutes later, her face pale and her eyes red. Rose got out of her seat as soon as she saw her.

"You look awful."

"Thanks." Dawn ducked her head, looking ready to cry again.

"So…I take it the test was positive?"

Dawn nodded. "Yeah. I'm definitely pregnant." She stopped, digging a kleenex out of her purse. "Rose, what am I going to do?"

Rose looked at her helplessly. "I don't know. Have you said anything to Tommy yet?"

"No…I wanted to wait until I was sure." She shrugged into her coat, following Rose towards the parking lot. "What am I supposed to say to him? How am I supposed to say it?"

"You'll have to find a way to tell him…he deserves to know. I mean, he is the baby's father."

Dawn stopped beside Rose's car, shivering. "Rose…what if he decides to run out on me? What if he doesn't want anything to do with me after I tell him?"

"I don't think he'll run out on you, Dawn. We've known him since…what…grade 6? He just doesn't seem to be the sort of person who'd run out on you."

"I know, but…this has never happened before. Some guys run out on a girl if she gets pregnant." Dawn slid into the car, hugging herself tightly.

"If he does, the rest of us will get him for you. We'll tell his parents, and refuse to talk to him or hang out with him…and if that doesn't work, I'll beat him up for you."

Dawn couldn't help but smile a little at the thought of Rose trying to beat Tommy up. "He'd better take responsibility. I don't want to have to sic you on him."

Rose chuckled. "That's the spirit! Let's go get something to eat. I'm starving."

* * *

Five minutes later, the girls were sitting at a table in the Moxie's Grill across the parking lot, perusing the menu and trying to decide what they wanted to eat. Dawn's earlier good humour had faded, and she stared, unseeing, at the menu.

Rose set her menu down. "I think I'll have the steak. What are you having?" She looked at Dawn, who was still staring at her menu, giving no indication that she'd heard her. "Dawn?" Rose snapped her fingers. "Earth to Dawn!"

"Huh?" Dawn set her menu down, not having the least idea what she'd read. "Did you say something?"

"I asked what you were having."

"I don't know. I'm not far along enough yet to tell."

"Not the baby. Lunch."

"Oh." Dawn looked embarrassed. "I don't know. A burger, I guess."

"Are you okay?" Rose looked at Dawn sympathetically.

Dawn looked down. "I don't know. Not really." She stopped as a server arrived to take their orders, then continued after she'd left. "Rose, what am I going to do? I'm only sixteen. I'm not ready for this."

Rose took a deep breath, fiddling with a packet of sweetener and trying to think of what to say. "Well, I think you should tell Tommy first, and then your parents."

Dawn looked at her like she was crazy. "Tell my parents? They'll kill me!"

"They're going to find out anyway," Rose pointed out, "unless you have an early abortion. When your middle starts swelling, they'll know. They'll probably take it better if you tell them early than if they find out when your stomach gets big."

"Rose…I don't even know what I'm going to do. I don't know if I should get an abortion, or have the baby and put it up for adoption, or keep it…I don't know!"

"Maybe you should talk to Tommy and your parents before you make any decisions."

Dawn put her head in her hands. "How did I get myself into this?"

"Uh…um…I thought you knew…you know…all that stuff about where babies come from." Rose replied, letting her words come out slowly. "Sometimes, when a guy and a girl get together, they-"

"I know what sex is!" Dawn interrupted.

"I know you do. I was just teasing!" Rose let out a half-heart laugh.

"How come you didn't use birth control?"

"We did all the other times." Dawn turned bright red, realizing what she'd just said. "I mean…uh…"

Rose turned red, too, not sure what to say. She stared at the packet of sweetener, watching it run out through the hole she'd poked in it. "Uh…I guess you didn't this time?"

"Well…um…we didn't have it with us." She looked down, staring at the plate of food the waitress set before her. "It was only once…I didn't think anything would happen."

"Remember what we learned back in health class? All it takes is once."

"I guess I wasn't paying attention." Dawn put her hand on her stomach. "Rose…uh…have you and Jack ever…you know…"

Rose blushed. "No, we haven't. And I didn't with Cal, either…even though he tried to make me."

"You and Jack are smarter than me and Tommy." Dawn put her face in her hands. "I feel so stupid. I knew better. I should have said no. I should have made Tommy go to the concert with you guys…or at least not invited him to lay down next to me."

"When are you going to tell him?"

"Probably when we're up at Banff. I want to tell him before I tell my parents or anybody…don't tell anybody until I've told Tommy, okay?"

"I won't say anything until you say it's okay," Rose promised her seriously.


	40. Chapter 40

**Chapter Forty**

_December 28, 2001  
Banff, AB, Canada_

"That was the longest car trip I've ever taken," Rose groaned, getting out of the car stiffly and rubbing her backside, sore from so many hours of sitting. She turned back to the car and reached in to shake Jack, who was leaning against the opposite window and snoring. "Jack, come on. We're here."

Jack opened his eyes sleepily. "Already?"

Dawn opened his door, causing him to hang halfway out of the car. "We've been on the road for seven hours!"

Jack pulled himself back up and unbuckled his seatbelt. "It doesn't feel like that long."

"That's because you've been snoring for the last three hours," Fabrizio informed him sourly.

"Yeah," Tommy cracked. "You almost drowned out the sound of Fabrizio waxing poetic about Helga."

Fabrizio shrugged, not the least bit embarrassed. "I miss her."

"Yeah, we've been hearing about that for seven hours," Dawn complained. "You'd think you were in love with her."

Fabrizio's face took on a dreamy look. "I think I am. She's beautiful, and sweet, and nice, and—"

"And not here." Tommy cut him off. "Why don't you go write her an e-mail? There's an Internet connection here."

Fabrizio shook his head. "She might laugh."

"Or fall asleep," Jack teased him.

Fabrizio looked horrified at the idea until he realized Jack was teasing him.

"Let's just go in," Dawn suggested, heading for the front door. "I have to go to the bathroom."

"We'd have been here a lot sooner if you hadn't had to stop for that every five minutes," Tommy complained. "What's up with you anyway?"

"It wasn't every five minutes," Dawn informed him. "And we'd have been here a lot sooner if you hadn't gone east instead of west."

"I'm rubbing off on him," Jack interrupted before Dawn and Tommy's bickering could turn into a full-fledged shouting match. "I could get lost in a paper bag."

"That's because men won't stop and ask for directions." Dawn gave him an irritated look.

"I was the one who looked at the map," Fabrizio pointed out.

"That's true," Rose said. "When you stop talking about Helga, you can actually be useful."

Tommy got the door unlocked and opened it. "Let's just go inside and get settled," he told the others. "Dawn and Rose get their usual room, I get my parents' room, and Jack and Fabrizio get to share my usual room."

"How come you get your own room?" Jack complained.

"'Cause it's my place," Tommy retorted.

"And he wants to sneak Dawn in…" Fabrizio added, chuckling.

He was surprised by Dawn and Rose's reactions. "Shut up, Fabri!" they snapped at him in unison.

The guys turned to stare at them. Rose laughed weakly, not sure what to say. Dawn turned to glare at her.

Tommy finally broke the tense silence. "Come on, guys. We're all tired…and I don't know about you, but I'm hungry. Let's get settled, then get something to eat."

They were glad that it was only a short walk into town, and that they didn't have to get back into the car to get there. After sitting down in a local pizza place and being served, all of them were in a considerably better mood.

"This is actually pretty nice," Jack commented, picking the olives off his pizza and giving them to Rose, who favoured him with a grin. "I mean, we've got Tommy's place all to ourselves, with no parents to tell us what to do, the town's close enough to walk to, but there's all this nice wilderness here, too, so we can explore."

"I wish Helga was here," Fabrizio commented. "I bet she'd love to explore."

"Especially with you to show her around," Rose told him. "You can show her around next time, Fabri."

"If there is a next time. I don't know if I'm coming back to Canada next year."

"Then I guess you'd better hurry up and tell Helga how you feel about her," Dawn suggested.

Fabrizio looked flustered. "She might laugh…"

"Or she might not," Jack said. "But the rest of us have heard so much about her, we're practically experts on your relationship."

Dawn looked up from her pizza, a mischievous look in her eye. "Maybe we should tell her."

"No, no, no!" Fabrizio shook his head. "I'll do it myself!"

Rose leaned over and whispered to Dawn. "Five dollars says he chickens out."

"You're on!" Dawn giggled, trying to look innocent when the guys turned to stare at her.

"What's so funny?" Tommy asked.

"Oh…nothing. Nothing at all."

"Okay…" Tommy looked at her strangely.

"I'll tell you later," she told him, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

He still looked at her strangely, drawing more giggles from Dawn and Rose. Jack, having been close enough to hear what Rose had whispered to Dawn, smirked, while Fabrizio just looked confused, not sure he understood what was going on.

Jack changed the subject. "So, Tommy, how'd you convince your parents to let you bring us up here?"

"Uh…they think I'm here alone, actually. So, if someone calls, check the caller ID, and if it's my parents, let me answer the phone. I'll get in trouble if someone else answers the phone."

"My aunt and uncle think your parents are here," Jack admitted. "They wouldn't have let me come otherwise."

"Same with my mom," Rose said. "If she knew I was up here with just you guys, she'd kill me." She laughed then. "Although…I think she's spending the time that I'm gone with Mr. Lovejoy, so…she's probably glad to have me gone for a few days." She sighed. "She still wouldn't want me up here without any adults, though."

Dawn nodded. "My parents are the same way. They think they can't trust us alone."

"We're not going to get into any trouble," Tommy complained, rolling his eyes, while Rose studied her pizza with sudden intense interest.

"My family here thinks I am with Jack," Fabrizio told them.

Jack gave him a worried look. "So, what happens if they call my house, looking for you, and neither of us are there?"

"Um…" Fabrizio hadn't thought that far ahead. "Perhaps your cousins will say we went with Tommy's family."

"I hope so," Jack muttered, "or we're both in a lot of trouble."

"What about your family in Italy, Fabri?" Rose asked. "What if they call?"

"They can't afford the long distance," he assured her. "They write to me all the time, instead."

"Don't tell them we snuck off up here, okay?" Tommy told him. "The last thing we need is your parents in Italy asking your family here why they let you go on a trip with no parents."

"I will not tell them," Fabrizio promised solemnly, "unless you tell Helga I am in love with her before I tell her."

"That's blackmail!" Dawn gasped, then grinned. "I guess you've got us there. Okay, we won't talk to Helga about you, and you won't tell your parents about this trip."

* * *

The following afternoon, Tommy invited the others to a barbecue on the Bow River. Rose and Dawn were delighted with the suggestion, but Jack and Fabrizio looked at Tommy sceptically.

"You're having a barbecue in December?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't tell me you never had barbecues in Santa Monica in December." Tommy gave Jack a surprised look.

"Yes…well, sometimes…when it wasn't raining…but it's a lot warmer in Santa Monica than here, and it got cold there in December, too."

"It's not raining today," Tommy pointed out, "or snowing, and if you wear enough clothes you won't notice that it's cold."

"I notice when it's cold," Fabrizio told him, not sure he wanted to go to a barbecue in this weather.

"That's because you're from the Mediterranean," Rose told him. "Suck it up, Fabri. You'll be okay."

Fabrizio still looked uncertain, so Jack decided to agree with the others. "It'll be fun, Fabri. I'll lend you my extra sweater so you won't be so cold."

"Yeah," Tommy added, "and I'm doing the barbecuing."

Fabrizio looked even more uncertain.

Dawn came to Tommy's defence. "He may not be able to tell directions, but he can barbecue better than any restaurant." She gave Tommy a kiss on the cheek.

Tommy grinned at the praise. "Thanks," he told her, putting an arm around her and pulling her close.

"Well, then, what are we waiting for?" Rose asked. "Let's go get ready!"

* * *

The sun was low in the sky by the time they reached the Bow River. They had stopped at Safeway for hot dogs and hamburgers, and Tommy had brought the barbecue grill his parents kept at the duplex.

"If you're doing the barbecuing, I think I'll go exploring," Jack said, looking around with interest.

Tommy raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure that's a good idea? It's starting to get dark."

"I'll go with him," Rose said, "to keep him from getting lost."

"Be careful, you guys," Tommy told them. "Seriously. A mountain lion killed someone near Banff recently…I don't know if they caught the cat or not."

"I'm sure they know to be careful," Dawn said. "There's mountain lions in California, too, aren't there?"

"Yeah, but I never saw one in the wild," Jack told her. "I saw one at this place called the Wildlife Waystation, but that's all."

"Well, maybe Fabri can go with you. A mountain lion's not going to mess with three of you together," Tommy suggested, warming to the idea of being alone with Dawn for a while.

"And Rose knows her way around," Dawn added. "Remember how we went for a walk here last summer and didn't get back until after dark? We were just lucky Tommy had that little flashlight on his keychain."

"There's a flashlight in the glove compartment," Tommy told them. "It's better than that thing I had on my keychain, which is broken now anyway."

"And if any mountain lion comes here, Tommy'll just give it a burger," Dawn joked, giving Rose a significant look. She had news for Tommy, and she didn't want the others around when she gave it to him.

Rose shrugged. She would rather have gone for a walk alone with Jack, but Dawn was right that a mountain lion was less likely to attack three of them—if there were any lions around—and she and Jack could always go for a walk alone another time. She suspected that Dawn wanted to tell Tommy about her pregnancy, and didn't want any of them listening in. Besides, she liked Fabrizio—as long as he didn't start talking about Helga again—even though he and Jack were always one-upping each other and threatening to pull crazy stunts.

"All right," she agreed. "Let's all go. We'll see you guys in a little while." Fabrizio had brought the flashlight from the car, so the three of them walked in the direction of a trail Rose knew, glancing back for a moment at Dawn and Tommy before disappearing.

When they had disappeared, Dawn turned to the grill, ripping open the packages of hot dogs and hamburgers and avoiding Tommy's grasp.

"That can wait a little while," he told her. "It takes a few minutes for the grill to heat up anyway."

"Um…yeah." Dawn stood near the grill as he lit the charcoal. "Um…Tommy…I have something to tell you…"

Tommy finished lighting the grill and looked up at her. "What?" Then his face fell. "Shit…don't tell me…you want to break up, right? That's why you've hardly been talking to me lately, and you and Rose are always whispering, and you got so mad on the way to Banff…"

"Actually…uh…no…I don't want to break up with you. But if you break up with me, I'm going to sic the others on you," Dawn joked feebly.

Tommy was thoroughly confused now. "What are you talking about? Why would I want to break up with you?"

"Well…uh…remember that night in Las Vegas, when we skipped the Britney Spears concert because I'd been so sick that day?"

"Yes…" Tommy still wasn't sure what she was trying to say.

"And…uh…we got together…and…we…um…we didn't use…"

"Crap." Tommy had finally figured out what she was trying to say. He dropped his hands down, forgetting about the hot grill. "Ow! Shit." He put his injured finger in his mouth.

"Yeah. That about sums it up," Dawn said, putting a hand on her stomach.

"Does anyone else know?"

"Rose does. She went to the Medicentre with me."

"So, you're sure you're…"

"Pregnant? You can say it. It's not a dirty word," Dawn told him. "Yes, I'm sure. About six weeks along…obviously." She shuffled her feet, staring off into the twilight.

Tommy sighed. "You can come over here, you know. I'm not some monster."

"I know." Dawn walked towards him slowly. "I didn't know how you'd react…"

"I'm still not sure how to react." He tapped his fingers against his legs nervously, then turned and started putting the meat on the grill. When he turned back to her, he asked, "What are you going to do?"

"I wanted to tell you before I made any decisions. This is as much your baby as it is mine."

"But you're the one who's pregnant."

"You'd better not run out on me."

"I'm not going to run out on you! I'm just saying that since you're the one who's pregnant, you're the one who has to make the choice about whether to have the baby or not. I mean…it's your body."

"I don't know what to do. Some people make it sound so easy, but it's not. Do I get an abortion? Do I have the baby and put it up for adoption? Do I keep it? If I do, then you'll be responsible for it, too, at least where money's concerned."

"If you decide to keep it, I'll be there for you guys."

"Do you want the baby?" Dawn sat down on one of the folding chairs they'd brought.

Tommy sat next to her. "Hell, I don't know…we've still got a year and a half of high school to go, and then there's college…"

"If I do have the baby, it won't be born until August. And if I have it, and we can't take care of it…we can always put it up for adoption."

"That might be hard, though…for you to have it, and see it, and then give it away…"

"Yeah," Dawn agreed. "Right now, it doesn't really feel like a baby…it's more like a bunch of symptoms. It hasn't moved yet…I don't think it's big enough to move yet. And if I hadn't gotten pregnant, I wouldn't even be thinking about any of this. It's not like I was trying to get pregnant…it was an accident. I never thought much about any of this stuff before."

"Is that why you didn't want any of that punch with champagne in it at the party?"

Dawn nodded. "Yeah. I suspected I was pregnant then…but I wasn't sure. But alcohol can do bad things to a developing baby…and I'm not sure what to do. If I was just going to get an abortion, it wouldn't matter…the baby wouldn't live anyway. But I'm not sure, so…"

"Didn't Rose's mom have her pretty young?"

"Yeah…but she was already halfway through college when she had Rose, and was already married to Rose's dad…I think we're too young to get married."

Tommy nodded. He'd been thinking the same thing, but hadn't said so for fear of upsetting Dawn.

"Are you going to tell your parents?"

Dawn looked down at her hands. "I don't know…I guess I'll have to eventually…unless I get an abortion. Then they won't ever have to know."

"If you tell them, how do you think they'll react?"

Dawn thought about it for a few minutes. "I think they'll be disappointed in me. Mom made sure I knew about birth control, and all the things that can happen with sex…she's a realist, not one of those people who pretends that if they never tell their kids about sex, they'll never do it. My parents told me it was better to wait until I was grown up, and preferably married, but they made sure I knew how to protect myself if I did it anyway."

"But you got pregnant because you didn't use birth control, so…"

"So they won't be very happy about that—if I tell them." She paused, thinking. "Are you going to tell your parents?"

Tommy sighed. "I don't know. They won't be happy, that's for sure."

"I'll make a deal with you…you'll tell your parents if I tell mine, okay?"

He was silent for a moment before finally answering, "Okay. If you have the baby, they'll find out eventually, anyway…I guess it's better if they hear it from us."

"Yeah." Dawn leaned her head against his shoulder. "I'm glad you're sticking with me on this." She smiled a little. "I told Rose I'd sic her on you if you decided to run out on me."

Tommy couldn't help but laugh at the idea of Rose chasing him down, determined to defend her best friend's honour. "Are we going to tell the others?"

"You mean Jack and Fabrizio, and Helga when she gets back?"

"I sure don't mean the whole football team and cheerleading squad. All of Edmonton would know if we told them. Do you think our friends can keep a secret?"

"I know Rose can…and none of the others seem to gossip much."

"Guys don't gossip."

Dawn made a face at him. "Right. That's why it would be all over Edmonton if you told the football team that I'm pregnant."

"They talk. That's different."

"Not really, but it comes out to the same thing."

"Do you want to tell them or not?"

Dawn looked down. "I'm kind of embarrassed…but I think I'm more comfortable telling them than telling my parents."

"So, you want to tell them?"

"Tell us what?"

Dawn and Tommy jumped, startled. They hadn't heard their friends approaching them.

"Tell us what?" Jack asked again. "Or did you mean some other them?"

The couple turned to stare at them—and momentarily forgot what they had been discussing. Jack, Fabrizio, and Rose were standing near the grill, trying to get warm. All three of them were covered in enough snow to be used for camouflage.

"What in the world were you doing?" Dawn asked, going to light the propane lantern they had brought.

Tommy hurried to flip the hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill, which were beginning to burn badly on one side. He stared at the colourful bruises both Jack and Fabrizio sported on their faces.

Jack looked a bit sheepish. "Well…Fabrizio and I were betting each other that we didn't really need the flashlight to walk…that we could see well enough in the dark. So, we walked ahead of Rose…and Fabrizio walked face-first into a branch. He yelled, and I started to laugh at him…and tripped over a root and landed flat on my face on the ground. Then Rose laughed at both of us, so we threw snowballs at her, and she threw some at us…and we finally got cold and decided to come back."

"Why did you want to walk in the dark?" Dawn asked him.

Jack shrugged. Rose looked at him in exasperation.

"They're guys," she said. "What more reason do they need? They were trying to prove how tough they are, and now they both look like idiots."

"Hey!" Jack and Fabrizio both turned to glare at her.

Rose just smiled, then whispered in Dawn's ear. "Did you tell Tommy?"

Dawn sighed. "Yeah."

"And…"

"He was cool about it. He's not mad or trying to run out on me or anything."

"Are you going to tell the guys about it?"

"I think so, and we'll tell Helga later if Fabrizio doesn't tell her for us. We're going to wait on telling our parents, though…we don't know what we're going to do yet, so we aren't going to say anything until we've made a decision."

"Okay…I won't say anything to them, either."

"Thanks." Dawn went over to Tommy, who was scooping the food off the grill and onto a plate. "Why don't we tell them now?" she suggested, taking the plate from him and setting it on a chair.

He looked reluctant, but finally nodded. "Okay."

They turned to the others. "Guys? We have something we want to tell you…"

Jack and Fabrizio looked up from where they were serving themselves from the plate of half-burnt hot dogs and hamburgers. Rose looked at Dawn, giving her a supportive smile.

"I…uh…we…um…" Dawn cleared her throat. "I'm pregnant. Yes, it's Tommy's. Please don't tell our parents, or anybody else…we haven't decided what we're going to do yet."

Rose walked over to Dawn and gave her a hug. Jack and Fabrizio looked at Dawn and Tommy, then at Rose, then at each other, not sure what to say.

Fabrizio finally broke the silence. "Did that happen under the bleachers, too?"

Dawn and Tommy both turned red. "No…in Las Vegas," Dawn finally replied. "When the rest of you were at the concert…"

Jack stared at them for a moment, then grinned. "No wonder you were willing to miss the concert." Rose elbowed him in the side. "Ow! Rose!"

"Be nice!" she hissed at him. "This is serious!"

"I know, but…"

"Jack Dawson, my best friend is in trouble! You'd better not tease her!"

"Let's not fight," Dawn interjected. "It's not the end of the world…we'll figure out what to do eventually. In the meantime…um…"

"Let's eat," Tommy suggested, pointing to the rapidly cooling plate of food. "Everything looks better on a full stomach…even big problems."


	41. Chapter 41

**Chapter Forty-One**

_Banff, AB, Canada  
December 31, 2001_

Loud music sounded through the house. In the kitchen, the table was covered with dishes of food. An ice chest sat in a corner of the kitchen, filled with sodas, bottles of water, and beer. Bottles of champagne and sparkling cider were chilling in the refrigerator. The New Year's Eve party was in full swing.

The five kids were in the family room, along with seven guests that Dawn and Tommy had invited, people they knew who were spending the winter holidays in Banff or who lived there year-round. The youngest guest was a thirteen-year-old girl named Candy who had taken an immediate liking to Fabrizio, much to his dismay. She sat beside him on the couch, scooting closer when she thought no one was looking, while he kept moving away from her until he was pressed up against the arm of the couch. Candy was giggling and trying to talk to him, while he stammered nervously and pretended not to understand her.

Candy's sister, Claire, was the oldest guest at the party, a twenty-year-old university student who had brought the beer and champagne. Their brother, Charles, was a friend of Tommy's, and he was the one who had been invited, but his parents had refused to allow him to go to a party where Tommy's parents weren't present unless Claire came along to supervise, and they had also insisted that Candy not be left out.

Two of the other guests, Brittany and Eva, were acquaintances of Dawn's. They had run into them at the pizza place the night before, and Dawn had insisted that they come to the party. Both had brought their significant others to the party—Brittany had brought her boyfriend, Greg, and Eva had brought her girlfriend, Lisette.

Thus far, Claire's "supervision" had been the life of the party—she had already drunk three of the beers she had brought and was currently dancing barefoot on the coffee table. Tommy was watching her worriedly, hoping that the table wouldn't be damaged—his parents would be furious if they found out about the party—and they wouldn't be happy about the damaged furniture, either.

The two couples who had been invited were dancing, as were Jack and Rose. Candy was looking at the dancing couples longingly, wishing that Fabrizio would ask her to dance, but he kept avoiding her gaze, much to her disappointment.

Dawn came out of the kitchen with her second plate of food—she had been hungry in the evenings the past few days. She sat down next to Tommy, slapping his hand when he tried to steal a cookie. "Get your own!" she whispered.

The song playing on the stereo came to an end, and Jack stopped whirling Rose around. She staggered against him dizzily, laughing.

Jack was panting. "Let's sit down for a bit."

"Want me to get us some drinks first?"

"Sure."

"What do you want?"

Jack thought for a moment, then grinned. "How about a beer?"

Rose laughed. "Sure." She hurried into the kitchen, returning a moment later with two cans of beer.

"Thanks." Jack took his beer and opened it.

"Have you ever had beer before?" Rose wanted to know.

"Yeah. Once."

"When?"

"Back in California, not longer after my parents' funeral."

Rose stared at him, wide-eyed. "Did it help?"

"Help what?"

"You know…make losing your parents hurt less."

Jack thought for a moment. "Sure…for a little while. Then it wore off, and they were still gone."

Rose leaned against him. "I know what you mean. When my dad died, I was so upset I couldn't function. The doctor prescribed some Valium, and it helped…but my dad was still dead."

Jack took a sip of his beer and made a face. "A party's a lot more fun than a funeral…but the beer doesn't taste any better."

Rose opened her beer and took a drink, then tipped the can upward and gulped it down as fast as she could.

Jack stared at her. "Show-off!"

Rose giggled. "What? You think a girl can't drink?"

At that moment, Claire, who had just finished a fourth beer, tried to execute a fancy move on top of the coffee table and fell off, slamming into the easy chair that Jack and Rose were sharing and causing Jack to drop his beer, splattering it all over Rose and her sequined red dress.

"Hey!" Jack grabbed the beer can from Rose's lap. "Watch it!"

Claire got up with difficulty, hanging onto the arm of the easy chair. "Sorry." Her voice was slurred. Charles was laughing, and Candy looked embarrassed.

"Jack, I'm fine." Rose pulled him back down beside her. "I know a good dry cleaner in Edmonton. I'll take my dress there when we get back and get it cleaned so Mom won't find out."

Jack glared at Claire, who was sitting next to Candy on the couch, laughing and causing her embarrassed sister to scoot away from Fabrizio, who looked relieved at the distraction.

"I think I'm going to go change, though," Rose said, drawing Jack's attention back to her. "That beer was cold."

"You still look good," Jack told her, taking in the soaked front of her dress.

Rose glanced down and squealed a little at the sight of the beer-soaked fabric clinging to her front. "Quit staring!" She got up and headed for the room she shared with Dawn.

Jack watched her go, looking away when Dawn nudged him with her toe.

"Nice move, Jack." Dawn lifted her can of Sprite in a mock-salute.

"I didn't mean to spill it on her! That girl ran into the chair…"

"Claire. Yes, I saw." Dawn paused at Charles leaned over and whispered in her ear. "Okay. I can do that." She looked back at Jack. "I'm giving Charles and his sisters a ride home. I know it's only eleven o'clock, but Charles wants to go home before his sister does anything else embarrassing." She looked at Tommy. "I'll be back before midnight."

"Be careful with my car!"

Dawn rolled her eyes, then glanced back at Jack. "I skidded on ice once when I was learning to drive and put a little dent in the bumper of my dad's car, and Tommy has never let me live it down." She set her soda can down and went to find her coat.

Jack looked at Tommy. "How come she's the designated driver when it's your car?"

"'Cause she's the only one who hasn't had any alcohol, except Candy, who's too young to drive. I'll have to go get Claire in the morning so she can get her car back. She's sure in no condition to drive right now."

As Dawn walked out the front door, Tommy got up and put on a new CD. Fabrizio got up, relieved to see Candy go, and walked out into the middle of the family room, where he started imitating a dance he had seen Jack demonstrating to Rose earlier that evening. Greg, Brittany, and Tommy stared at him, while Eva and Lisette glanced at each other and then joined him.

Jack grinned, glad to see Fabrizio finally enjoying the party. He shook his head when Fabrizio got a few of the moves wrong, standing up and joining in. Lisette watched him for a moment, then corrected her moves and demonstrated them to Eva and Fabrizio. The four of them danced for a few minutes before Jack stepped away and looked in the direction Rose had gone.

Fabrizio followed. "Where did you learn that dance?" he asked, watching as Lisette grabbed Eva's hands and whirled her around in much the same way as Jack had whirled Rose earlier.

"My mom learned it in a class she took, and she showed it to my dad and me." Jack leaned against the wall. "She tried to teach Trudy, too, but she wasn't much interested in learning."

Fabrizio nodded. He had met Trudy, though Jack hadn't told him much about his sister's past. He knew that she had survived the attacks on the World Trade Centre a few months earlier, but not much else. Though Jack and Fabrizio were friends, Jack did not find him nearly so easy to talk to as he found Rose. Part of it was the language barrier—Jack spoke some Italian, but not a lot, and Fabrizio's English was still rough—but more than that, Jack had found Rose to have a sympathetic ear, and they were close.

Jack glanced in the direction Rose had gone again. "I'm going to go check on her," he told Fabrizio. "She's been gone for a while."

Jack found Rose standing in front of the mirror in a blue dress, trying to repair her makeup, which had run when the beer had splashed into her face. "Rose? Are you okay?"

Rose jumped, startled, the mascara wand in her hand bouncing against her cheek. "Jack! You startled me." She dabbed at the mascara, trying to remove it from her skin. "I'm trying to fix my makeup, but it isn't going too well."

Jack watched her attempt once again to apply the mascara to her eyelashes. Her hands were unsteady, and she almost poked herself in the eye with the mascara wand.

"Maybe you shouldn't have gulped down all that beer," he told her.

"No, I'm fine…" Rose squinted at the smear of mascara she'd gotten under her eye. "Well…maybe not."

"Maybe you should just wash it off and go without makeup. You're pretty enough anyway."

Rose looked at him. "You're sweet."

"I know." He looked at the stuff sitting on top of the dresser, trying to figure out what she would use to take her makeup off.

Rose reached for a package of cleansing cloths. Slowly, she pulled one out and rubbed it over the smears of mascara and blush on her face.

"Better?" she asked.

Jack nodded as she dropped the cloth into the trash. "Yeah…you don't have all those funny-looking smears on your face anymore."

"What time is it?"

Jack glanced at his watch. "11:35. Twenty-five minutes 'til 2002." They heard the front door open and close. "Dawn took Claire and her brother and sister home. Her brother was afraid Claire would do something even worse than dance on the table and make me dump beer on you."

Rose laughed. "I bet that made Fabrizio happy."

Jack chuckled. "Yeah. When I went to look for you, he was dancing with those two girls, Eva and…uh…"

"Lisette?"

"Yeah, Lisette."

"I noticed he was looking at them funny earlier."

"I'm guessing he hasn't seen girls together so…openly. I don't know if it bothers him or not."

"You said he was dancing with them."

"Yeah…well, he's probably not worried that they'll come on to him or sit there and giggle while trying to get his attention."

Rose shook her head. "Middle schoolers. Although I'll admit to being a little shyer than that when I was thirteen."

"When I was thirteen, I thought girls were both fascinating and scary."

"We're not so scary anymore, are we?" Rose raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well…only sometimes."

Rose laughed, going to sit on her bed. "Let's stay here for a few minutes. We haven't had much time alone lately."

Jack sat next to her. "It's amazing that we get more time alone together when we're around your mom and my aunt and uncle than when we're with our friends."

"My mom and your cousins don't want us to spend all our time with them."

"True." Jack pulled Rose into his arms, enjoying being alone with her for a while. Rose kissed him, a smile spreading across her face.

"How long 'til midnight?" she asked.

Jack glanced at his watch again. "About twenty minutes."

"Good. I don't want to go down yet."

Jack kissed her, one hand caressing the back of her neck. Rose responded in kind, her fingers toying with the buttons on his shirt.

He pulled away. "Rose, what are you doing?"

She looked at him, a bit uncertain now. "You don't want to?"

"I…um…oh, hell…the others might hear…"

Rose got up and closed the door. "No, they won't." She sat down next to him again, pulling him close.

Jack grinned, kissing her and reaching for the zipper on the back of her dress. Rose lay back on the bed, pulling him with her and unbuttoning his shirt.

"Are you nervous?" Jack asked as Rose sat up slightly, shrugging out of her dress and dropping it in a heap on the floor.

Rose shook her head. "No…not really."

Jack pulled her into his arms again, their kisses deepening as they ran their hands over each other's bodies.

The door flew open.

"Hey, are you guys coming back to the party or not? It's almost midnight…"

Jack and Rose pulled apart, looking up in embarrassment to see Dawn and Tommy standing in the doorway.

Dawn turned red. "I so did not want to see that."

Jack ran a hand over his flaming face. "You didn't see anything. We didn't get that far yet." Jack reached for his shirt, discarded at the edge of the bed.

Rose, clad only in her panties and bra, grabbed her pillow and held in front of her. "Don't stare at me!" she snapped at Tommy.

"Don't stare at her, Tommy!" Dawn agreed, trying to cover his eyes. "You're only allowed to look at me that way!"

"I wasn't staring!" Tommy protested.

"Yes, you were!" the other three responded, Rose trying to slip back into her dress while still keeping the pillow in front of her.

"You guys were gonna use birth control, right?" Dawn asked, putting a hand on her stomach and looking at them seriously.

Jack and Rose looked at each other guiltily. Neither had even thought about it.

"Good thing we interrupted you, then," Tommy remarked. "You don't want to wind up like us."

Jack mumbled something unkind under his breath. Rose touched his arm.

"I guess we'd better go out there before anyone else comes looking for us." She turned so Jack could zip up her dress. Sighing, she said, "It's probably just as well. We don't have anything for birth control, and I don't want to get pregnant."

"Yeah." Jack sighed. "My little cousins and Trudy's kids are enough trouble already…I don't need one of my own right now." He got off of the bed, smoothing his hair and offering Rose a hand.

"Come on." Rose stood and pulled him towards the door. "Let's celebrate the new year by not getting into trouble."


	42. Chapter 42

**Chapter Forty-Two**

_January 7, 2002  
Edmonton, AB, Canada_

Huddling deeper into their coats against the January cold, Rose and Dawn hurried into the school, grateful for the warmth once they were inside.

Dawn slouched a bit, sucking in her stomach as she pulled off her coat. Rose noticed.

"You're not showing yet," she whispered.

"I know…but what if someone guesses?"

"How would they guess? There's nothing to see."

"I still don't want anybody knowing."

"Are you and Tommy any closer to deciding what to do?" Rose asked, taking off her own coat as she reached her locker.

Dawn looked down, shaking her head. "Not really. I used to think it would be an easy decision to make…whether to have a baby or not…but it isn't."

"And if you decide to have it, then you have to decide whether to keep it or give it up for adoption." Rose turned to open the locker.

"Yeah. I have three choices…and I can't make up my mind about any of them." Dawn stopped as an envelope fell out of Rose's locker. "What's that?"

Rose bent down to pick it up. "I don't know." Glancing around, she opened the envelope, her face paling as she read the card.

_Happy New Year, Darling_

_I trust you had a good trip. Did your mother know where you were? I wish I had been there myself. You look so beautiful in the winter. Did you have a good time with Jack? I know he was with you. I watched all of you get into your friend Tommy's car and leave._

_I would have shown you a better time, of course. Jack is only a boy…a beautiful girl like you needs a real man._

_Be careful what you do, Rose. I'm watching you._

Not surprisingly, the card was unsigned, and nothing was written on the envelope, either. Dawn snatched the card as it fell from Rose's fingers and scanned it.

Rose looked at her best friend, her face beginning to turn red. "He won't stop. He won't stop! I hoped that if I was gone for a while he'd give up, but he's worse than ever! When I checked my e-mail last night, there were twelve messages from twelve different addresses…one for every day since I last checked. He knows when we left, when we came back…he even knows that we went to the Medicentre."

Dawn's eyes widened. "Oh, my God! What if he tells my parents?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "That's the least of your worries. He wants to know what kind of birth control I'm using. He didn't say a thing about you."

Dawn sighed with relief. "That's good, because I don't want my parents to know I'm pregnant."

Rose glared at her. "Dawn! This isn't about you! He's stalking me!"

Dawn looked embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I'm just so worried about being pregnant and everything, I didn't think about—"

"Some friend you are!" Rose slammed her locker door and stomped off into the milling crowd of students.

"Rose, wait!" Dawn chased after her. "I said I was sorry!"

Dawn caught up to Rose when she stopped beside Jack, who was digging through his messy locker. "Rose, come on!"

Jack turned to look at them. Rose was glaring at Dawn, who was looking back at her pleadingly. "What's going on?" he asked, looking from one to the other in confusion.

Rose snatched the card from Dawn's fingers. "I got another note from Cal, but all Dawn can think about is that someone might tell her parents that she's pregnant, which they'll probably find out anyway!"

Jack didn't quite understand. "You got another e-mail?"

"No, I got a card that someone left in my locker." She held it out to him.

Jack took it and read it over, his brow furrowing. "But does this have to do with Dawn?"

"I told her about the e-mail where Cal said he saw us at the Medicentre. Now she thinks he's going to tell her parents!"

Dawn gave Rose an indignant look. "I do not! You said that he only asked about you!"

"Yes…after you thought he was going to tell your parents!"

"Hey, that's enough." Jack stepped between the two girls, who were glowering at each other.

Dawn looked at him suddenly, her eyes narrowing. "How did you know about the e-mails?"

Rose rolled her eyes at her again. "He's not the one stalking me, if that's what you think. We were chatting last night and I told him."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because you weren't on-line last night. I tried to call you, but I got a busy signal."

"Oh…yeah. I was talking to Tommy."

"Well, that's why I didn't tell you last night!"

Jack looked at them uneasily. "Okay, you've both got problems. Fighting won't help anything—"

"Her problem won't hurt her!" Rose snapped.

"How do you know? My mom didn't have anymore kids after me because something went wrong when I was born! How do you know the same thing won't happen to me?"

"Your problem isn't stalking you!"

"Yours isn't growing in you!"

"You should have told Tommy no!"

"And you shouldn't have gone out with Cal in the first place! He's too old for you anyway."

Jack looked nervously from one to the other. "Um…okay…you've established that neither of you can tell the future, and that neither of you are very smart…" He stopped, realizing what he'd just said. "Uh…I mean…"

"Shut up!" Dawn and Rose responded in unison, turning to glower at him instead of at each other.

Jack backed away, looking around to see if any of their other friends were nearby…anyone who might diffuse the tension.

He was relieved to see Helga and Fabrizio walking in their direction, but the two were so wrapped up in each other that they didn't notice Rose and Dawn's angry faces or Jack's desperate look.

"Fabri! Helga!" he called. After a moment, they looked up and saw him.

"Jack!" Fabrizio greeted him happily, steering Helga in their friends' direction. He stopped when he finally noticed the expressions on the faces of his friends. "What's wrong?"

"Uh…Dawn and Rose are fighting…"

"And you're stupid," Dawn added, glaring at Jack.

"He is not!" Rose defended him.

"Why is Jack stupid?" Helga wanted to know.

"He said Dawn and I aren't very smart." Rose narrowed her eyes at Jack.

"Hey! I thought you said I wasn't stupid!" Jack protested.

"I changed my mind."

Helga looked at them in confusion. "Rose and Dawn are fighting because Jack said something stupid?"

"No." Rose leaned back against the bank of lockers. "Cal sent me a bunch of e-mails and put a card in my locker, and all Dawn can think about is—" She stopped, looking at Dawn. "Did you tell her about…?"

Dawn shook her head. "No." She looked at Fabrizio. "Did you tell her?"

"Tell her what?"

"Tell her about…" Dawn gestured to her stomach.

Fabrizio shook his head. "No."

Dawn took a deep breath, turning to Helga. "You can keep a secret, right?"

"Of course. I haven't told anyone about Rose's ex-boyfriend stalking her, you know."

"Well, this is something else that needs to be a secret. I don't want my parents to know…I don't want the whole school to know, either."

"What is it?"

Dawn took a deep breath, wishing that Tommy was there to support her, but he was home with a bad cold. "I'm pregnant." She put a hand on her middle.

"You are?" Helga looked at her in surprise. "What are you going to do?"

Dawn sighed. "I don't know. That's why I don't want anyone to know—at least, not yet."

"Is it Tommy's?"

Dawn sighed in aggravation. "Why do people ask me that? Of course it is. Who else's could it be?"

Fabrizio interrupted. "Rose got another note?"

Jack handed the card to him. "Yeah. She got a bunch of e-mails, too."

Fabrizio and Helga looked at the card, mouths dropping open.

"What a jerk!" Helga exclaimed. "Rose, you should show this to the police."

Rose sighed. "I tried that before. They didn't do anything."

"Still…"

Fabrizio frowned. "But you have a…what do you call it…something to stop him from bothering you?"

"A restraining order? Yes, but it's only as good as the paper it's printed on. It's no different now than it was when I first told you guys about this a few months ago. The police don't believe Cal could be behind this."

"Did you save the e-mails?" Dawn asked, forgetting for the moment that she and Rose were mad at each other.

"Yes…and I forwarded them to Jack, too."

"Do you still have the old e-mails?"

Rose nodded. "I saved them in case the police actually decided to do something."

"Forward all those to me, too," Jack told her.

"And me," Dawn added. "That way, if he messes with your e-mail and erases them, we still have proof." She paused, thinking. "Send them to Tommy, too."

"And me," Helga interjected.

"_Si_…me, too," Fabrizio said. "We all want to help you."

Rose looked down. "Thanks, you guys. He's really scaring me. And no one but you guys and Mom seems to believe me when I say it's Cal."

"It has to be," Dawn told her. "Who else would know some of those things?"

"He doesn't know everything, though," Jack said. "He didn't know where we all went on vacation."

"Or why you were really at the Medicentre," Dawn added.

"I wish he'd been right about that," Jack mumbled, then turned red when Fabrizio smirked at him.

Rose turned red, too, but didn't say anything. She just took the card back from Fabrizio and tucked it into her purse so she could show it to her mother later.

"Rose," Dawn began, "I'm sorry I kept talking about myself. I know this is scary for you."

Rose shook her head. "I shouldn't have yelled at you. You're not the one who's being stalked."

"Yes, but…he's watching all of us, you know. He seems to know whenever you're with any of us."

"Maybe you should stay away from me," Rose joked weakly.

"No way. We're here for you…right, guys?" Dawn looked at Jack, Fabrizio, and Helga.

"That's right," Jack told her. "Cal's not going to hurt you…not if I have anything to say about it."

"We're with you, too, Rosa," Fabrizio assured her. Helga nodded in agreement.

"And you know Tommy can't stand Cal," Dawn added. "He hasn't liked him since Cal hit you for talking to him."

"Your old _fidanzato_ hit you for talking to Tommy?" Fabrizio asked incredulously. "But Tommy already has a girlfriend."

"That didn't matter to Cal," Rose told him. "He didn't want me talking to any guys except him."

"He did worse than that, too," Dawn said. "Rose finally broke up with him and got the restraining order after he tried to rape her."

Rose flinched. "I don't want to talk about that."

Fabrizio looked as embarrassed by the idea as Rose was, but Helga walked up to Rose and gave her a hug.

"Rose, that's horrible! He should have been put in jail for that."

"He didn't actually get a chance to do anything," Rose mumbled. "We were at my house when it happened, and luckily, Mom got home before he could do anything. She'd liked Cal before, but when she caught him trying to rape me, and then I finally told her about his hitting me, she told him to get out and never come near me again. Then she helped me get the restraining order."

"Which he keeps violating by sending you all these notes and e-mails." Dawn looked at Rose. "Maybe one of us should send him a letter or an e-mail to let him know we know it's him."

"He already knows. The police have talked to him…but he always has an alibi…"

"An alibi can be made up," Jack told her. "Trudy's told me a few stories…"

"I know it's him. What I need is proof!" Rose exclaimed. "But he's not stupid enough to sign his name to anything, and the police haven't found any fingerprints except ours and Mom's on the notes. And of course the police can't get into his computers or his phone records without reasonable suspicion."

"Why don't they listen to you?" Fabrizio wanted to know.

Rose threw her hands up in frustration. "I don't know! Maybe he's paying someone off or something! They sure seemed suspicious enough of me when one of them said I was sending the notes and e-mails and making the phone calls to get attention! And they always believe him when he says it was just a coincidence that he happened to be in the same place as me."

"We believe you, Rose," Jack said, putting an arm around her as the bell rang, signalling that it was time to go to class.

"Yeah," Dawn added. "Whatever happens, we're here for you." She shifted her coat to her other arm. "By the way, are we still up for tennis this afternoon?"

Rose looked at her, trying to push her fear of Cal and his continued stalking out of her mind. "Sure. Sorry I was so mad at you."

Dawn sighed. "That's okay. You're scared. If someone was stalking me…like if Tommy and I broke up and he decided to send me a bunch of stupid notes…I'd be mad, too."

Rose smiled weakly. "I can't imagine Tommy stalking anything but a football or a pizza."

"Well…you know what I mean."

"Yeah…thanks for sticking with me."

"You're welcome."


	43. Chapter 43

**Chapter Forty-Three**

In the days that followed, the stalking continued. Rose found new notes in her locker almost daily, and received so many phone calls with nothing but heavy breathing and a quick hang-up that she called the phone company to see if the calls could be traced. The few times her caller ID actually showed what number the calls were coming from, they turned out to be from pay phones scattered around Edmonton. Some days, the number of calls she got were so overwhelming that she simply logged onto the Internet and left it logged on, whether she was using it or not. One afternoon, when Ruth had come home earlier than expected, she answered the phone to find the heavy breather on the other end and said some things that Rose wouldn't have expected from her usually polite mother.

Rose got similar calls on her cell phone, including one in the middle of class after she forgot to turn her phone off. The annoyed teacher confiscated the phone, and Ruth had to come to the school and pick it up. She lectured Rose sternly about remembering to turn off her cell phone when she was at school, but still returned it to her, knowing that her daughter was being stalked and might need the phone to call for help.

Rose tried getting her cell phone number changed, which worked for a couple of days, but then the calls began again. She was more convinced than ever that Cal was the stalker, as he knew people who worked for the company that provided her cell phone service and could have obtained her new number from them.

The obscene e-mails continued, too, some detailing exactly what the stalker wished to do to Rose, while others detailed what she had done that day, indicating that she was being watched. Rose forwarded the e-mails to her mother and her friends until one of the e-mails proved to have a virus attached, after which Helga regretfully asked her to stop forwarding them, as her host parents didn't have an anti-virus program and the e-mail had nearly destroyed their computer.

Rose received several anonymous letters in the mail, too—all without a return address, and all postmarked in Edmonton. She took them to the police, but although they were polite, they also indicated that they didn't believe her, and soon stopped accepting the letters and notes she tried to turn over to them, stating that they could find no evidence that Mr. Hockley was responsible. Rose was angry and frustrated, and almost wished that Cal would do something so that she could prove she wasn't making things up.

Late in January, Rose had a chance to confront Cal. He had appeared at several of the same places as her, always appearing to have some business there. He had come into the McDonald's Rose and her friends most often went to, and though he had sat on the other side of the room, Rose had caught him staring at her several times. He had also shown up at the mall at the same time as Rose and Dawn, which made her even more suspicious—while they dating, Cal had indicated more than once that he hated malls—and he hadn't appeared to be buying anything when she and Dawn caught sight of him.

Rose was at the country club when she finally confronted him. It was a Saturday, and she and Dawn had just finished playing tennis when Rose caught sight of him standing near their court.

Her blood boiled at the sight of him. "Goddammit!" she muttered to Dawn. "Why won't he leave me alone?"

Dawn turned to see who Rose was looking at. Cal was standing near their court, ostensibly talking to Mr. Lovejoy, who looked annoyed.

"He's following me! Why doesn't anyone believe me?"

"I believe you, Rose," Dawn assured her. She looked around. "Maybe we should just leave while he's occupied."

"No." Rose's eyes narrowed. "I overheard Mr. Lovejoy talking about Cal to my mother one evening when they thought I was out. He said, and I quote, 'Cal Hockley is the worst tennis player I've ever seen. He doesn't make the slightest effort to understand the rules of the game, and appears to be playing more for the sake of wasting my time than anything else.' And you know how Mr. Lovejoy feels about people who can't play tennis."

Dawn giggled a little. "He is kind of a snob about it."

"More than a snob…tennis is his life." Rose watched as Lovejoy turned away from Cal and walked off stiffly, her eyes narrowing at Cal's knowing smirk. "It wouldn't surprise me if he knows about Mr. Lovejoy and my mother…maybe Cal's trying to blackmail him."

"Maybe." Dawn looked at Cal uneasily. "Rose, I think we should leave before he sees us."

"He's already seen us. I can guarantee you that. And tonight, if not sooner, I'll get an obscene e-mail from a non-existent address telling me how sexy I look playing tennis and which part of my clothing he'd like to remove first." She clenched her fists, glaring at him, then exploded. "I'm sick of this! He just keeps stalking me, and the police don't believe me! They won't even talk to me about it anymore! Cal always has an alibi—and I'm sure he has someone watching me at school! He's following me places I know he doesn't like to go!"

Her angry words had reached Cal's ears, and he turned to stare at her, a look of triumph mixed with unease crossing his face.

"Cal!" Rose stomped across the room towards him, holding her tennis racket as though she intended to hit him with it.

"Rose, stop!" Dawn hurried after her, grabbing her arm. "The restraining order…"

"He's been violating it for months."

"Let me talk to him. He doesn't have to stay away from me."

Rose turned and looked at her. "No. If he gets violent and decides to hit you, it might hurt the baby. Besides, if he hurts you, Tommy will go after him, and then he'd be in trouble, too." She looked up, seeing Cal edging towards the door. "Don't you move!" she shouted at him.

Cal looked at Dawn. "Would you please remind her that she has a restraining order against me, and that means I need to stay a certain distance away from her, even if she approaches me?"

Rose broke away from Dawn's grip and advanced on Cal. "You couldn't care less about that restraining order! You've been stalking me for months! You aren't even supposed to contact me, but you've been sending me e-mails, letters, notes…you even called me in the middle of class!"

Cal shook his head. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, you do…even if you weren't the stalker—though I know you are—the police have talked to you several times. You know all about this."

"And I suppose they didn't tell you that I had an alibi for every occasion."

"Alibis can be made up—and it's funny how you remember exactly where you were every time I got one of those stupid notes or phone calls."

"I have a good memory. I wouldn't be where I am now without it."

"If you had a good memory, you wouldn't be here now! Or don't you _remember_ that the restraining order doesn't allow you to come near me?"

"You're the one who approached me!"

"You knew I was here! You should have left as soon as you saw me!"

"Did it ever occur to you, Rose, that I am also a member of this club, and therefore have the right to use its facilities, _including the tennis courts_?"

"This isn't the only court! You stayed here because I'm here!"

"Don't flatter yourself."

Rose saw red. "You son of a bitch!" She raised the tennis racket threateningly.

"Mr. Hockley! Rose DeWitt Bukater!"

Rose looked behind her, startled, to see Mr. Lovejoy striding towards them, Dawn hurrying after him. Slowly, she lowered the tennis racket.

Lovejoy took it from her, then turned to Cal. "Mr. Hockley, I think you've forgotten that she has a restraining order against you. You to need to leave, _now_, before I call the police."

"But she—"

Rose couldn't hide a smirk at seeing Cal flustered. He glared at her, then turned on his heel and left.

She turned to Lovejoy, not sure whether to be relieved or angry at having her confrontation with Cal interrupted. She reached for her racket, but he held it out of reach.

"This is not a weapon, young lady. You could have severely damaged it if you'd hit him with it."

"I could have severely damaged him!"

Lovejoy smiled slightly. "There is that." He handed the racket to her. "I will have to tell your mother about this."

Rose suddenly thought about how that would look—they way that she had deliberately approached Cal after months of being stalked by him. "No…no, you don't need to do that."

"She needs to know that he's deliberately provoking you."

"She knows."

He nodded, but continued, "She needs to know about this incident."

"Why?"

"Because I've seen Mr. Hockley here several times, looking as though he's waiting for someone. He rarely makes an effort to actually play tennis."

"You said he was the worst tennis player you'd ever…" Rose trailed off, realizing what she'd said. "Uh…I mean…"

"I think someone's been eavesdropping."

Rose blushed. "Well…uh…okay, I do know about you and Mom. But I haven't told anyone except Dawn and my boyfriend, Jack, and Dawn can keep a secret. Jack isn't even allowed to come here because the time I brought him here, he got into an argument with Cal and got kicked out. He doesn't care anyway…" She trailed off, looking at him nervously.

He frowned. "Your mother was wondering when to tell you about us."

"Um…should I tell her I already know?"

"Let me do that. Oh, and Rose…if you see Mr. Hockley, tell someone. Don't confront him yourself. Your mother has told me about the problems you're having with him. I was a private investigator before I became a tennis instructor, and his stalking behaviour seems to be worsening. Stay with other people at all times if you can. I believe he's dangerous."

"Has he tried to blackmail you and Mom?"

"No, and I don't think he will, at this point…he's more interested in you, and to threaten us would show his hand."

"I just wish the police would believe me!" Rose thought for a moment. "If you used to be a private investigator, maybe you could…"

"It's been about twenty years since I quit being a detective. My skills are rusty by now."

"Still, if you could find out anything at all…it might help."

He looked at her for a moment, considering. Finally, he sighed and nodded. "I'll see what I can do."


	44. Chapter 44

**Chapter Forty-Four**

_February 21, 2002_

Over the next few weeks, Rose gave Lovejoy copies of all of the letters, cards, and e-mails she had received from her stalker. She also took note of the time of every obscene phone call, and the number it came from if the caller ID showed it.

Lovejoy reported to her that Cal hadn't shown up at the tennis courts since the day Rose had confronted him, but he did show up at the country club on a regular basis—often while Rose was there. Rose glimpsed him in the restaurant one night while having dinner there with her mother, but other than that, she didn't see him at the country club.

Nevertheless, he still showed up at other places that Rose and her friends frequented—most often while Lovejoy was at work at the country club, making Rose wonder if he'd found out that he was being investigated. Once, Rose was sure she saw him watching her house from his car, but the car drove away before she could be sure—after all, luxury cars were common in her neighbourhood, and she didn't get a chance to see the license plate.

Rose tried to stay with other people as much as possible, even going grocery shopping with her mother—one of her least favourite activities—rather than staying home alone. Sometimes she felt like she was imposing on her friends because she was with them so often, though they insisted that she wasn't.

* * *

Rose was changing back into her regular clothes after cheerleading practice when her cell phone rang. Aggravated, she picked it up, expecting another obscene phone call—when she had turned her phone on after school, there had been seven messages on her voicemail, all of them nothing more than heavy breathing.

To her surprise, the call was from her mother's office. Hitting the talk button, she asked, a bit uneasily, "Mom? What's going on?"

"I have a meeting tonight—my boss just called it. It may run a little late—are you going to be okay alone?"

Rose bit her lip, glancing at Dawn, who was watching her with concern. "How late might it run?"

"Probably not later than eight o'clock, but I can't make any promises."

"Are you sure you have to go to this meeting? You can't say you're sick or something?"

"I wish I could, Rose, but I suspect my boss would make me go anyway."

"I don't suppose I could come to your meeting."

"No…it's confidential company business."

"Mom…I got seven heavy-breathing voicemails today." Rose's voice shook. "I can't be alone…what if he shows up at the house?"

Ruth was silent for a moment. "See if you can stay with a friend…I'll call you when I come home, and we can call Spicer then to see what he's come up with."

"Mom, please…"

"Stay with a friend. Bring them over to the house if it makes you feel safer."

"Can I invite Jack over?"

"Rose…"

"We won't do anything, Mom. I promise. He might not even be able to come…he might have to watch his cousins or something."

"Rose, you know how I feel about you having a boy over when you're alone."

"Jack's nothing like Cal, Mom. He won't hurt me."

"Nevertheless…"

"Please, Mom? I'd feel better if someone was with me."

"Rose, I really don't think…" Ruth hesitated, then finally relented. "All right, Rose. Just this once. But if I find out you've done something I don't want you doing…"

"Nothing's going to happen, Mom. I promise. If Jack comes over, we'll just…study, and eat, and maybe watch a movie. We won't even watch a romantic movie. Jack thinks they're boring anyway."

Ruth sighed. "Okay, Rose…but if you watch a movie, watch it downstairs, not in your room."

"We will, Mom. And if he can't come over, I'll…I'll go to the library or something. Someplace where there's people."

"Call me when you decide what you're going to do. Even if I'm in the meeting by then, I'll still take your call."

"Okay, Mom. Thanks. I'm not trying to cause trouble; I just don't want to be alone."

"I know you don't, Rose. Whatever you decide to do, stay alert, and if you feel threatened, call the police, then call me."

"I will." Rose's phone beeped, indicating that the battery was almost out. "My phone's about to die, Mom. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay, Rose. Stay safe."

"I will. Bye, Mom."

"Bye."

Rose turned off her phone, then turned to Dawn, who had been listening to Rose's side of the conversation. "Mom's got a meeting tonight. She might not be home until eight or later."

"So you're going to invite Jack over?"

"Mom said it was okay. She doesn't like me having boys over when I'm home alone since what happened with Cal, but she knows I don't want to be alone, and Jack's nothing like Cal."

Dawn grinned, trying to lighten Rose's mood. "Alone, in the evening, with your boyfriend…"

"Nothing's going to happen. Mom would kill me if I wound up like you."

"Oh, thanks a lot!" Dawn scowled at her. "Did you tell her?"

"No…but you haven't made up your mind yet about what you're going to do…and if you decide to have the baby, people are going to find out."

"I know…but that still doesn't help me make up my mind. I don't know if I'm ready to raise a baby, though."

"Then that leaves you with two options…or three, if Tommy is willing to take the baby. What has he said about it?"

"He said he'll support whatever decision I make, but hasn't said what he thinks I should do."

"No pressure, huh?"

"No help, either. I actually have a doctor's appointment in half an hour, and he's going to meet me there. Then we'll talk about what to do." She glanced at her watch. "I need to get going."

"I'll walk with you to the parking lot. Can I borrow your cell phone to call Jack?"

"Sure." Dawn handed it to her. "How come you can't hang out with Helga or Fabrizio?"

"They have some kind of reception for foreign exchange students and their host families tonight. And Tommy said earlier that you two were doing something this afternoon, so I knew I couldn't stay with you."

Rose punched Jack's number into the cell phone and put it to her ear.

"Hello?" a little voice answered.

"Hi. Is Jack there?"

"He's doing his homework," replied the voice on the other end.

"Well, can I talk to him, Sandy? This is Rose."

"Yeah." There was a moment of silence, broken only by the sound of pounding feet. Then Rose heard Sandy screech loudly into the phone, "Jack! Your girlfriend's on the phone!"

"Gimme that." Rose could hear Jack arguing with his young cousin over the phone. "No, you can't tell her what you did at preschool today. She called me." There was a wail from Sandy. "Okay. Fine. You can tell her, but make it quick. I want to talk to her."

Sandy came back on the phone. "He says I can tell you what I did at preschool today."

Rose sighed. "Okay, Sandy. What did you do?"

"I drew a picture of you and Jack! Only Danny wouldn't share the red crayon, so I made your hair purple, and he wouldn't share the yellow crayon so I made Jack's hair pink."

Rose couldn't stifle a giggle at the thought of Jack with pink hair. "That's cute, Sandy. Can I talk to Jack now?"

"Okay."

A moment later, Jack picked up the phone. "Hey, Rose. What's going on?"

"Mom called and said she has a meeting this evening, and she said that since I didn't want to stay home alone, I could invite you over."

"Your Mom's letting you have a guy over when she's not home?" Jack sounded a bit shocked.

"I promised we wouldn't do anything—I said we'd just study, eat, and maybe watch a movie. She made me promise we'd stay downstairs, too."

"Let me ask my aunt if I can go over there."

Rose waited while Jack went to find his aunt, hoping that she'd let him stay with her. After a moment, she heard muffled voices over the phone, and then Jack came back on the line. "Rose?"

"What did she say?"

"She said I could go over to your house, but I have to home by nine because it's a school night."

"Mom thinks her meeting will probably be over by eight."

"How long does it take her to get home?"

"About half an hour or so, depending on traffic."

"Then I'll have time to get home before nine, and you won't have to be alone."

"I got seven heavy breathing voicemails on my cell phone today."

"He's getting worse all the time, isn't he?"

"I just hope Mr. Lovejoy can find some proof that he's the one doing this. I think that's the only way the police will believe me."

"It'll be okay, Rose. We're all there for you."

"I know you are." Rose stopped when she reached Dawn's car, which was just a few spaces away from her own. "Do you need me to pick you up, or can you drive yourself?"

"I can drive myself."

"Okay. If you're not there when I get to the house, I'm just going to stay in the car until you get there. I'm not going to give Cal a chance to wait in the dark for me. Since he always seems to know where I am, he might know that Mom is at a meeting and think it's a good time to get me."

"I'll be there as soon as I can, okay?"

"Okay. I love you, Jack."

"I love you, too, Rose, and I'll see you in a few minutes. Let me just get my books together so I can finish my homework at your house."

"Sure. Bye, Jack."

"Bye."

Rose hung up and handed the phone back to Dawn, who was looking at her worriedly.

"What?"

"Do you want me to follow you to your house to make sure Cal isn't around? I can stay until Jack gets there."

Rose shook her head. "No. It's okay. I don't want you to be late for your appointment, and Tommy is probably waiting for you."

Dawn sighed. "Okay, Rose, but seriously, if anything happens, call me. Actually, call me later anyway, after Jack leaves. I want to know how it went without your mom around."

"Nothing's going to happen!"

"You just keep reminding yourself of that." Dawn grinned at her as she got into the car. "Remember, I want every detail."

"Dawn!"

"Have fun, Rose." Dawn closed the door and started the engine, waiting until Rose got into her own car before driving away.

* * *

By seven o'clock, Jack and Rose had both finished their homework and were sitting on the couch in the living room, watching a DVD of _Pearl Harbor_. Rose leaned comfortably against Jack while he played with the remote, trying to skip the warnings about copyright.

Rose had put a bag of popcorn in the microwave, so when she heard it beep, she got up to get it from the kitchen while Jack gave up on trying to skip the warnings and just let the DVD play.

Rose walked into the kitchen, reaching for the light switch as she did so. She stopped, suddenly alert, as she realized that she had left the kitchen light on—and she had been the last person in there.

When she switched the light on, she saw the person standing near the stove, his eyes squinted against the sudden bright light.

"What are you doing here?" Rose demanded, her voice loud and shrill as she stared at Cal, wondering how he had gotten in.

"I just want to talk to you—"

"Get out! You aren't supposed to be here!" When Cal moved towards her and grabbed her arm, she screamed. "Jack!"

The kitchen door burst open as Jack, wielding the remote as though he planned to hit someone with it, came running in. He took one look at Cal and Rose, dropped the remote, and launched himself at Cal, making him lose his grip on Rose's arm.

"Rose! Call the cops!" he shouted, trying to propel him towards the basement door, which was standing open, a cold draft emanating from it. Rose realized how Cal had gotten in—someone had either forgotten to lock the outside door to the basement or had left it ajar, allowing him to sneak in when he thought only she would be home.

Rose ran for the phone as Cal broke away from Jack and gave him a shove, knocking him back against the counter and heading for Rose again. Jack recovered quickly, turning on Cal with his fists and driving him away from her.

She grabbed the kitchen phone and dialled 9-1-1. "Pick up! Pick up!" she begged, watching as Cal hit Jack back.

After two rings, someone answered. "9-1-1. Please state your emergency."

"My ex-boyfriend broke into my house and he tried to grab me. He's fighting with my new boyfriend right now!"

Rose looked up as Jack shoved Cal against the counter again, trying to pin him there. Her eyes widened in horror as she saw Cal grab a knife from the rack above the counter. "Jack, look out!" she screamed.

Before the warning was fully out of her mouth, Cal lunged at Jack with the knife. He jumped back, holding his hands up to defend himself and receiving a stinging cut to one hand. Cal charged blindly at him again, this time piercing through the thin fabric of Jack's shirt and stabbing him in the stomach.

Jack dropped to his knees, his eyes wide with shock as he clutched his stomach, his hands quickly turning red with blood. Cal stared at him, looking almost as shocked as Jack, then dropped the knife and ran for the basement door.

"Ma'am? Ma'am, what's going on?" the 9-1-1 dispatcher asked.

"Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Cal—he…he just stabbed Jack in the stomach. Send an ambulance! He's bleeding all over the place!"

"Ma'am, try to stay calm. Is this your address?" The dispatcher read off a street number.

"Yes…yes, it is—Jack!" Rose dropped to her knees beside him, the phone cord stretched almost as far as it would go. "There's blood everywhere…send someone quick—hurry!"

"Ma'am, please stay on the line until the police get there. I'm sending them now."

"And an ambulance! We need an ambulance!" Rose grabbed a dish towel and pressed it against the wound in Jack's midsection, trying to stop the bleeding.

"I've called an ambulance, too."

Rose dropped the phone as she crouched beside Jack, who was lying on the floor, his hands clutching at the towel she was pressing to his stomach. His face was pale, and he moaned in pain as she pressed the towel harder against the wound.

"Jack!" Rose took one hand off the towel and touched his face. "Don't pass out on me, Jack. There's an ambulance coming."

He groaned again, trying to push her hand away from his stomach. "That hurts…shit, that hurts…" His voice was weak.

"It's going to be okay, Jack. They'll be here in just a few minutes. Just…just hang on."

"Rose…"

"You'll be okay. I know you will. You have to be!" Rose took both of his hands with one of hers and pressed the other against the blood-soaked towel again.

"They…they have to believe you now, don't they? Now that he's…hurt somebody else…"

"I hope so. God, I hope so. Just hang on, Jack. I think I hear a siren."

Jack didn't reply. He had fainted.

* * *

Two minutes later, the doorbell rang. Realizing that the front door was locked, Rose got to her feet and, with a last glance at Jack, rushed to open it, taking only a moment to make sure it wasn't Cal.

"He's in here!" She rushed to the kitchen, the paramedics following her.

Rose knelt down beside Jack again, pulling the blood-soaked dish towel away. "Jack!" She shook him. "Jack!"

"Young lady, we need you to move out of the way." One of the police officers took her by the arm, trying to lead her away from Jack.

"Jack!"

"Let the paramedics help him, young lady." He pulled her away from Jack, stumbling over the phone Rose had dropped on the floor.

"Oh!" Rose bent to pick up the phone. "Are you still there?"

"Yes, ma'am. Have the police arrived?"

"Yes, and the paramedics. Thank you."

"You're welcome, ma'am. I'm hanging up now."

"Okay." Rose hung the phone up. Turning to the cop who had pulled her away from Jack, she said, "It was Cal who did this! Caledon Hockley, my ex-boyfriend! I've complained about him before, but you guys never listened—"

"Let's get him taken care of. Then I'll take your statement. Is the perpetrator still here?"

"He ran into the basement and is probably far away by now." Rose pointed to the basement door.

The cop went to the basement door, stepping inside cautiously, then flipping on the light and looking around. "There's no one there, but the outside door is open."

"What if he's still in the yard?"

"I'll take a look."

A few minutes later, as the paramedics wheeled Jack's gurney towards the front door, the police officer returned, a shocked Ruth following him in the door.

"Rose, what is going on here?"

"Mom!" Rose ran to her mother and hugged her. "It was Cal! He got in through the basement and tried to grab me, and then Jack hit him, and then he stabbed Jack with one of the kitchen knives…" She turned, pointing to the blood-stained knife. "He threw it over there before he ran away." She looked at the cop. "Did you see him? Was he still in the yard?"

"I didn't see anybody, but a couple of other officers are looking around."

Rose broke away and raced to the front door, watching as the paramedics placed Jack in the ambulance and shut the doors. Ruth followed her a moment later, restraining her as Rose started out the door.

"Mom, I need to be with him. This is my fault!"

"It isn't your fault, Rose, and you need to let them take him to the hospital." Ruth held onto her daughter.

"I'm going to follow them!"

"No, you aren't. I don't want you driving in this state."

"But, Mom, Jack needs me!"

"Rose, listen to me." Ruth made Rose turn to look at her. "He needs more help that you can give. Let them take him to the hospital where he can get the help he needs. I'll drive you there as soon as the police are finished here."

"Mom, please…"

Ruth gripped Rose's shoulders and shook her slightly. "Rose, I need you to calm down. Take a deep breath and let it out slowly."

"Mom…" Rose sagged in defeat. "I need to be there. What if he…" Her voice broke. "What if he dies?"

"The doctors will do everything they can for him." Ruth gave her daughter a hug. "Now, why don't you sit down and give the police a statement?" Ruth steered her towards a chair. Looking into the kitchen, she told her, "They're dusting for fingerprints now. This time, they'll have solid evidence that Cal's the one who's been stalking you."

Rose sat down on the couch in the living room and stared blankly at the movie that was still playing. Ruth turned the television off and sat down beside her, putting an arm around her as the police officer Rose had first spoken to sat in a nearby chair, a pad of paper and a pen in his hands as he prepared to take her statement.


End file.
